Fascism
by MusicChiller34
Summary: AU - The world of Vesperia was dying. War was on the horizon and Abigail is the only one who feels she can stop a war from mounting. How will she do it though? How can she make it to the town of Wonderful and convince the leader to help her take down the only person who has been there for her throughout her life? Is she capable of saving lives or...will war be the end result?
1. Chapter 1

**Fascism**

Chapter 1

The world of Vesperia was dying.

It was all due to one man.

Bray Wyatt.

From the time Abigail met Bray, she knew her life would never the same, even at the tender age of 10. Fostered at age 5, Abigail was silent for 5 years. She knew how to talk, but the horrific events of what she'd witnessed haunted her…stopped her from speaking a word to anyone. They called her a mute, the foster care people. The kids all made fun of her for it, almost to the point of crucifying her on a daily basis verbally and sometimes physically. One day, a small boy with dark hair and kind blue eyes came up to her, asking if he could watch television with her. Abigail didn't know what possessed her to do it, but she wound up speaking for the first time in 5 years…to Bray. He was kind, sweet and had a powerful spirit about him. They shook hands, introduced themselves and went on with watching cartoons together, while the foster people looked on in awe and disbelief. How could one simple boy have such a profound effect on a girl who hadn't spoken in 5 years?

The foster people were heavily into religion, Catholicism, and they were convinced Bray was some kind of demon sent to bring destruction to their world. It was insane, but the poor boy was punished on a daily basis. Abigail could do nothing for him except help tend to his wounds late at night, after sneaking out of bed to check on him. They'd put him in the highest room of the building, which was also the coldest at winter time and never tended to his room. The blood pouring out of him was evil and he had to be cleansed of it, they said. Abigail cried every night over Bray, wishing they could somehow escape their misery and it finally happened…when they turned 17.

Bray had snuck them out, ordering Abigail to follow his every move or they would be done for. It worked, they were free, and it was freezing outside, with nowhere to go. At least they were free. Bray had scars all across his backs from the constant whippings he'd received, but Abigail just saw them as survival. She loved him, truly, he was her only friend and the only one she trusted in the world of Vesperia. Somehow, they'd found a way to survive after that escape and Bray vowed, that night, to create a world of peace, a world where only one religion existed. His religion. DOV – Dominion of Vesperia. Slowly but surely, he began recruiting members to his religion, traveling town to town, with Abigail by his side always, preaching his word of DOV. Abigail was on his side completely…until she realized the horrors that were truly within Bray's mind as well as what the members were doing.

Women were captured and forced to have sex with one of his followers to produce children, to grow his Dominion. His religion. His world. If the women did not produce boys, they were punished, and the boys were taken away from them instantly to be raised by their father. If the women produced girls, the girls stayed with their mother until the proper age where they could be bedded to produce more for Bray's army. That was all women were used for were baby making and cooking. The men were not loyal to their women either, raping sometimes 4 a night, depending on their sexual appetite and hunger. If the woman could not produce within a 3-month span, after having sex sometimes 4 times daily, she was executed and thrown away like yesterday's garbage.

Abigail was the only woman untouched and it was at Bray's decree because she was his. She belonged to him. They hadn't had sex, but she knew it was inevitable when the time would come where Bray would force her into it. He was no longer the sweet boy who made her talk again after 5 years at age 10. He was a monster, hell-bent on warping the world to his satisfaction, to what he wanted, and Abigail's heart crumbled along with the world of Vesperia. If one did not follow the DOV, they were executed on the spot. It was kill or be killed with Bray at the charge, leading his followers down the path of destruction.

And Abigail saw no hope for escape from this horrendous life she now lived.

Bray, if anyone had bothered to ask, would have been very thorough in his explanation of why things were being done this way. No great revolution, be it a country, or a religion, occurred without casualties. It was a sad fact of life. In order to make things better, things always had to get worse first. The women being used… well, the ones who birthed sons, would one day be exonerated and praised in new history books, tracts, and materials. They would be known as brave pioneers, volunteers for a righteous crusade. As with any revolution, some of the more… horrible details would be glossed over. One just couldn't make an omelet without breaking several eggs. He cared for Abigail; out of all these women, she was precious, special, and she was meant for more than just being a vessel for more followers.

When they first began this crusade 10 years ago, Abigail never imagined Bray would turn into the monster he was today. The babies produced by the women had grown incredibly fast, too fast. The babies were also born too fast, not needing to wait for the full 9 months before being birthed. Abigail had done some snooping around and discovered Bray had a sorcerer by the name of Malcolm. He had produced a serum that was injected into the mothers, once they were with child. There was no way of knowing if the baby would be a boy or girl, which was why the women were punished severely if the baby came out a girl. It was a waste of the precious serum that allowed Bray to grow his army at an alarming rate.

Within a year's time, they were full-grown men and women. Throughout the course of the year, the father's job was to teach their son everything about the world, about DOV and instill Bray's beliefs in them wholeheartedly. The women taught the girls how to cook, clean and told them about sex, because on their first birthday, technically, they would be chosen to breed and produce. Once full-grown, the men – boys – carried on the tradition of breeding with women to create their own offspring, mostly with the women born the same time as them from different father's. Before Abigail knew it, Bray had over 200 followers within a one-year span. They now lived in a castle, built by the followers, with plenty of room for everyone. Whenever they began running out of room, the women who could no longer breed were executed, either hung or shot in the head. It was sickening…so much death and bloodshed.

When would it end?

He was working with his sorcerer on a new serum. Women, as a whole, might be worthless, but individually, some of them eventually would show merit. Bray wanted them ALL to be worth something and, in order for that to happen, they needed to birth boys. He needed a ratio. For every 20 boys, he wanted only a single girl. Malcolm's original serum was great; it helped immensely, but women were birthing more babies than their bodies could tolerate. Doing it at accelerated rates, however, meant higher burnout. If that was going to be the case, then they were officially resources and Bray wanted to get everything he could out of them before they became expendable. Not to mention, execution was a waste of resource as well.

"Give me a list of what you need, and I'll see to it." He ordered in his deep, gravelly voice. "This is to be a top priority." Wars were won with soldiers, not women.

"My liege, these ingredients can only be found in…" Malcolm hesitated to say it, frowning because he knew Bray would not like hearing this. "The main ingredients we need are found in…the town of Wonderful." It was one of the ONLY towns Bray had not acquired for his own due to the place littered with Revolutionists against the DOV religion. It was led by one of the most dangerous men in all of Vesperia and Bray had made it a point not to venture in that area…at all. "Mythril will not be easily obtained, My Lord. I fear it is the only ingredient that will be proficient enough to produce only soldiers for your cause…" However, Mythril was in the jurisdiction of the Undertaker. "Perhaps we can find another way. Give me some time, I promise to make this my top priority."

The town of Wonderful…who was this Undertaker Malcolm spoke of? Abigail hid in the shadows and barely breathed while eavesdropping on Bray and Malcolm's conversation. If this town known as Wonderful was as he said…could that be her ticket out of here?

Eventually, Bray would deal with the Undertaker. They would have their showdown and it would be glorious indeed, legendary, but for now… discretion was the better part of valor and he wasn't a fool. He wouldn't risk his precious soldiers against the Undertaker, not just yet.

"See that you do," He ordered after a moment, eyes flashing ice. "I'll… look into alternatives." Perhaps a spy of sorts, someone who could slip in and out without being noticed, or at least without being suspicious. Frowning, Bray turned to walk out of the room.

Abigail had not stuck around and moved swiftly back up the stairs from the sorcerer's chambers to the sitting hall, seated in her pure white dress. Bray was adamant about all of her clothes being white – it showed she was pure. Personally, Abigail wanted her color back, but knew better than to defy Bray and just went along with what he wanted. The last thing she wanted to do was upset him and they'd been together for 17 years now, just not in an actual relationship. Any man who even LOOKED in her direction, Bray made sure they regretted it. It was a sin, as far as he was concerned, to admire what was his. Abigail looked up when Bray walked into the room, her midnight blues locking on icy blues and her black hair was down, brushed neatly and hanging down her back in gentle waves.

"You look distressed, Bray." One thing Abigail NEVER did was call him 'My Lord', 'my liege' or anything like that because, to her, he was simply Bray and she supposed he let it slide because of how long they knew each other. "Is everything alright?"

At the sight of his childhood friend, his love, the only thing pristine in this cold, cruel world, Bray's face lit up in a smile. All the anger, the coldness, it melted at the sight of her and his face changed into what it had been once, or perhaps could've been. "Abbie…" He sighed, walking over to sit in front of his chair, his back to her legs and he leaned his head backward, feeling her hands coming down to caress his head. "I have a problem, Abbie…"

He had several problems, but Abigail knew better than to say that aloud and simply acted as if she hadn't overheard him and Malcolm talking. He had sat down, looking stressed and her hands instinctively began rubbing his head and shoulders, trying to ease some of his tension. As sick and twisted as his ideals were for DOV, she couldn't deny she did love him, at least part of her did. He had saved her from the foster home, the abuse, because he hadn't been the only one to be scarred by those wretched people. She had too, a deep scar two inches deep across her abdomen from a whip…it was a reminder to her just how cruel the world was they lived in and what they'd had to do in order to survive.

"What is it, Bray?" She asked softly, not stopping the massage and caressing because at least he was calm for the moment. "Maybe I can help…"

"As much as I know you want too, I don't think…" Bray trailed off, staring off into space thoughtfully, his hands moving to caress the white gown she wore.

He adored Abigail in white. She was the most kind, gentle soul he had ever known, even after everything they had been through, she had remained pure of heart and spirit. White was the color he preferred her in, it represented how he saw her. One day, he would take her properly, for his own, but first… first Bray would give her a world where she could live without fear.

"Maybe…" He amended, frowning as the thoughts continued to form. Above almost everything, he cherished her the most, but she was also the only person he truly trusted.

Could he trust her with this?

Never once had Bray tried making a move on her or touched in an intimate way. Not even a butt squeeze, only soft pliant kisses, and rubbing arms and back. His hands never went lower, though Abigail could tell, now that she had matured and grown into a woman, from the child she'd been, the lust for her had increased. She could see it his eyes whenever he looked at her, touched her, smelled her. There were nights Bray would sneak into her bed and simply hold her against him, and she could feel his desire poking and prodding her. He'd kiss her neck, rub her arms and then roll her over on her back to kiss her lips, but never touched her breasts or lower extremities. It was weird, strange because, by the time he finished, she'd feel as if she was on fire and wouldn't be able to sleep the remainder of the night. Luckily, it only happened twice a week, so she was able to catch up on rest the nights he didn't come to visit her in her chambers.

"Whatever it is, you know you can talk to me about it. I don't know if I can help, but I can at least try or maybe ease your mind a little." She caressed his face before being pulled against him, another soft kiss brushing her lips. "You know I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going through your mind and what troubles you."

At the very least, it wouldn't hurt to tell her what was troubling him. Abigail knew the worst of him and the best, and she was still here, offering to hear his troubles. Taking a deep breath, Bray told her about the serum, what it could do for them, and how some of the ingredients were hard to find and one… one was going to be near impossible, due to where it was.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Malcolm is looking for a way to… well, another place to find it, but it may be a long time until he does, and we NEED this, Abbie."

It was very difficult to hide the disgust she felt rolling through her body at his explanation, still not believing how undervalued women were to Bray. Breeding machines and nothing more. He had killed so many women in the span of 10 years, it was treacherous, and Abigail couldn't believe she still felt love and feeling for him. He was a cold-blooded killer, in her eyes, and yet, she remained because there was nowhere else for her to go. This serum would only do more harm than good and speed up the process of building his army, nothing more. It was selfish, inconsiderate and downright evil. Somehow, she kept the soft smile on her face and hid how she truly felt from him, a master at this after so many years.

"You will find a way. Going after the Undertaker, of all people, isn't wise, Bray. I know you already know this, but…I don't want you getting hurt. Or anyone else for that matter. There must be another place to find the Mythril. Give Malcolm some time to look for it, like he asked. That's my advice to you." What she REALLY wanted to say was forget the serum, forget the DOV and release these poor, defenseless women that were ripped away from their loving homes to become breeding slaves! "You will find your answer, as you always do."

"If I could send someone in… just in and out, someone who wouldn't be noticed…"

He disregarded her advice because they were so close… so close Bray could almost taste it. However, he couldn't send in one of his precious men either; they were needed, essential, necessary. And the women… no, he didn't trust his little breeding machines. Not to mention, he needed his human incubators here, busy with their one job.

"No… I need someone I trust, someone who can get in and find out where the Mythril is… how to get it." He was now staring into her face, wondering if he was willing to risk her.

"M-Me?"

This was too good to be true! Was he joking or was he serious? No, Bray rarely joked and the amount of conviction in his eyes spoke volumes. Her voice had come out soft and shocked, her eyes filled with perplexity.

"You want to send me, don't you?" It was more of a statement than an actual question. "You wish to send me as a spy to infiltrate and find out where the Mythril is."

Given she was the only one he fully trusted out of everyone in the DOV, Abigail still didn't think he valued her over men. Then again, she had witnessed, firsthand, what happened to those who dared defy his wishes to keep their hands off her. Case in point, a man named Zack Ryder thought he'd get handsy with her one day and Bray sliced his head off in front of her. Abigail had screamed, his blood coating the front of her chest and, needless to say, it was the only warning Bray ever had to give to his men to keep their hands off her.

"I will do whatever you wish of me, Bray. You know that."

"I know." Bray groaned, moving so he was on his knees before her; the only person in this world or the next he would ever put himself in this position for. "I know, Abbie, and that's my problem." He reached up, cupping her face tenderly in both hands. "You know how much you mean to me… so asking this of you," Bray stared into her face, his eyes searching hers. "I know it's a lot, and it could be dangerous," Frowning, he wondered just how much danger. "But with planning… and precautions…"

Pressing her finger to his lips, Abigail merely smiled while he held onto her, his hands moving from her face to her hips. This was her chance – her ONE opportunity to get out of the castle and find help. Bray wanted her to infiltrate the Wonderful, the Undertaker's domain, and she planned on doing it, just not the way he wanted her to. The Mythril was not her concern. She wanted to liberate all the women who had been forced to come here and hopefully save them, before they were executed for 'not meeting expectations'.

"If you think I'm scared, I'm not. If this is for the good of DOV, some sacrifices must be made. I'm not saying I'm a sacrifice, but…if I'm the only one who can do this task, then you should let me do it. You've always put the Dominion above everything else and, it sounds like this is very important to get our hands on. So, let me help you." This time, she brushed her mouth against his and felt his arms snake around her, kissing her a little deeper than before. "I'll be safe and careful, I promise, if you send me out to do this. I'll feel like I've achieved something other than standing around in white gowns all day. Let me actually CONTRIBUTE to your cause and help you pave the way." If he wanted to take her here and now, she would let him if he meant getting out of this castle and far away from him and the DOV.

"Abbie, my sweet Abigail," Bray whispered against her lips, breaking the kiss before he did something he would regret, the need for her growing with each passing day. "I don't know what I would do, who I would be, without you."

She was his best friend, his most cherished, and one of the main driving forces behind what he was doing. The DOV would ensure she would never suffer what she had suffered before, and he knew some of the things he did were wrong, but they were NECESSARY. Sometimes, the ends justified the means. Bray would ensure it, he had too, because if Abigail ever looked at him without that light in her eyes, he would know he had failed and then… then he didn't know what would happen. She was the only thing holding back the total darkness that consumed him, his one ray of light.

"What if I lost you because of this mission? I can't…" But he had too, and he knew it as Bray began raining kisses over her face.

"You won't lose me. We'll plan it out to where I'm not in danger and I'm inconspicuous." Abigail crooned soothingly, seeing she was getting through to him and convincing him this was the right thing to do.

Good. Sometimes, she could work her manipulative magic on him, but she didn't do it often. No, better to play her cards when the moment counted instead of squandering her opportunities. Abigail kissed him again, this time harder and moaned in his mouth when his tongue touched hers for the briefest of moments.

"Please let me do this for you, for us, Bray. For the DOV. Trust in me and my ability to get this done."

Caving, his hands moved to rest on her waist, no lower. He wanted too. Bless the Dominion, Bray wanted too; the times he had gone to bed with blue balls were considered penance half the time, suffering for the sake of her purity, suffering for all the sinful things he knew he was eventually going to do to Abigail, when the time was right. When they were both ready, and that moment was on the horizon.

"Fine… Abbie, we'll do this. We'll plan everything out to make it as safe as we can. I can't lose you."

"Thank you, Bray." Abigail hugged him tightly, stroking the back of his neck and narrowed her eyes, feeling his face bury in her neck. "Thank you for letting me do this for us and for DOV."

Just as she said that, a woman that couldn't have been more than 17 was dragged down the hallway by the back of her neck, tears streaming down her face. She was crying out, pleading with the man not to take her to his room, but he wasn't listening. Was this really the world Bray wanted Vesperia to be? Her eyes closed as she heard a scream followed by the door slamming shut, feeling Bray's body tense along with hers. After all this time, Abigail should've been used to it by now, but…she wasn't.

"I'll speak with Malcolm." Bray assured her, after a long silence, the woman's screams fading finally. He pulled away from Abigail, standing up and stretched his arms over his head, staring down at her. "We'll plan all of it, Abbie, ever last bit of this. I won't risk you." He was completely oblivious to the hypocrisy of what he had just said, after a woman had just been dragged into a room to be raped and bred with. Bray pulled her up, bestowing one of his rare, gentle smiles. "Go rest, all right? I'll work this out. I'll see you at dinner."

"S-Sure, see you then."

Abigail watched him walk away and couldn't get the disbelieving expression off her face. What the HELL was wrong with him?! Did he not just see a woman being dragged, against her will, into a room on the second floor to be raped?! Bray's soul was tainted, if he even had one. Abigail couldn't stand to think about all the cruel things that woman was going through and went to her chambers, shutting the door with authority behind her.

"I have to get out of here." She whispered, clasping her hands tightly to rest over her lips and walked over to stare out the window, tears sliding down her cheeks.

The ONLY good thing Bray ever did was make a decree that any sexual activity was to be done behind closed doors. There was to be no fornicating or showcasing activities of that nature for everyone to see. He had punished a few of his soldiers for not listening and obeying that rule, which pleased Abigail immensely. She had been the one to put the bug in his ear about how unpleasant it was to watch women being taken and pointed out it should've been a one-on-one affair instead of having an audience. He agreed with her and the ruling was made.

If only Abigail knew how much influence she could have had over him… she was his weakness. But when she was out of sight, the smile was gone, and the ice was back in his eyes, all warmth leaving with her. Bray spared a glance at a guard standing at the wall. His personal guards were all mute; they had voluntarily had their tongues removed, so they couldn't tell the things they heard in the castle, the things he said or planned. Frowning, he went to go see Malcolm again, he had an escapade to plan.

"My liege, I'm sorry, but you wish to do what?"

When Bray repeated himself, Malcolm felt faint and had to sit down, blinking. This man wanted to send his most prized possession, his one true love, his precious innocent Sister Abigail, into the lion's den?! To infiltrate and gather information for them regarding Mythril? Although it wasn't a bad idea, or a bad plan for that matter, Malcolm was having a hard time believing Bray would willingly sacrifice Abigail for the 'greater good' of DOV.

"How do you plan on having her infiltrate the Undertaker's domain, My Lord?" There was only say many things a woman could do without being caught and she had to be inconspicuous. No, this was not a good idea at all.

"I'm working on it." Bray studied Malcolm intently, seeing the disapproval written all over the other man's face. If not for the fact that Malcolm was a rare breed, sorcerers were not exactly easy to come by, Bray would have reminded him that he was in charge and he wasn't overly fond of having his decisions questioned, silently be damned. "I'm thinking as a low-level person, someone who isn't noticed easily, or perhaps… perhaps ignored…" He was sometimes a genius and began smiling. "No one will give a servant another look." They didn't, not usually.

That was…a brilliant idea, actually. Malcolm felt ashamed for ever doubting his Lord and lowered his head, clasping his hands in front of him. "I do believe that would work perfectly, yes, my liege. You never cease to amaze me, your intuition knows no bounds, you…" He gasped when Bray wrapped his hand around his throat, squeezing threateningly.

"Do not think for a minute I don't know what you're doing, Malcolm. Trying to get on my good side, after blatantly defying me…" Bray gritted his teeth, squeezing harder. "I shouldn't have to remind you that your granddaughter, Susan, is turning of age in a couple of days. And it would be MOST upsetting if she were to wind up in…let's say…Luke Harper hands, hmm?"

"N-No! P-Please, m-my liege!" Malcolm begged, coughing when Bray released his throat and gasped for air, clutching his throat. "I-I'm sorry…I'll n-never doubt you again! Just please…please not my Susan…you know what he'll do to her like all the others!"

"Of course, I do. He'll rip her apart, piece by piece, and take great pleasure in taking her BY FORCE." Luke was one of his trusted guards, with his tongue still intact, that enjoyed hearing a woman's scream as he took her for his own, filling her with his seed in the most violent of ways. "Doubt me again, and I will make sure she winds up in HIS hands…"

"I won't, my liege, you have my word. I'm sorry…"

"Good." Bray stepped back and clasped his hands behind him, a congenial smile spreading over his face. The venomous air about him gone almost as quickly as it had come on. "Remember Malcolm, if you are good to me, I can be good to you and to yours." Which meant he would find someone suitable for Susan; someone who would be gentle. If Malcolm decided to be a pissant… he would ensure Susan begged for a bullet to her forehead. "Now," He rubbed his hands together eagerly, boyishly. "Let's get to work. What do we know about the Undertaker and his little town?"

Unfortunately, Malcolm didn't have much information regarding Undertaker, his people or the town of Wonderful. He'd never made it that far east, especially since he was forcefully taken out of his home to live and work for Bray Wyatt. It was all against his will, Bray did not take well to people not bending to his whims and will. His daughter had paid for it, but luckily, his sons were nowhere near this lunatic and hopefully never would be in their lifetime. By the time Bray left, it was past dinnertime and Malcolm slumped against the wall in his chair, hoping the monster kept his word about choosing one of his kinder, gentler soldiers for her to mate with.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Later that night, Abigail was visited by Bray and knew it the moment she felt a warm body slide into bed with her. She didn't even have to turn over to know who was in bed with her or the lips that kissed her neck, the hand that stroked her stomach through the white nightgown she had on. The moon streamed through her window, the only light given to them and she turned to look at him, stare into his eyes that were only warm for her. Abigail did not know how sex felt, she was a virgin, a 26-year-old virgin, thanks to Bray and the fact he wouldn't let any other men near her or have her. He was the only one who would have her in the end and it pained her to know that, to know she wouldn't have a say in when that time came.

"Is everything okay?" She asked quietly, in a whisper, sighing when his mouth merely claimed hers in a passionate kiss. It was the same thing she asked him every night he came into her bed and all he did was respond with kissing and touching.

Everything was not all right. He was sending the purest creature he had ever known, HIS Abigail, into the relative unknown. The only thing he did know for sure was that, at the end of her road, was the Undertaker. Bray knew the man by reputation, but he knew the soldiers at the Undertaker's command because they were fierce, and both men AND women. He mentally snorted at that, his lips moving along her jawline, hands caressing her through her nightgown. Torturing them both, Bray knew it, but damned if he couldn't help himself.

Having this man touch her so intimately and lovingly confused the hell out of Abigail. She hated how Bray ran so hot and cold, one minute he was perfectly content and HER Bray, the Bray she remembered, and the next he was this vile, cruel creature she didn't recognize. It broke her heart to kiss him and touch him because she never wanted him to bed her. As much as she loved him, she wasn't in love with him the way he was her. Or maybe it was obsessed. She didn't know anymore. Abigail felt him roll them both to where she was on top, his mouth claiming hers again and she began grinding against him. It was out of pure instinct since her body felt like it was encased in fire. Bray sat upright slowly, breaking the kiss to look into her eyes and Abigail flushed from head to toe at the way he stared at her.

"Talk to me. Tell me what's on your mind." She coaxed in a soft voice, knowing better than to use any other tone with him and caressed his bare shoulders.

He had come to bed with her naked from the waist up, which wasn't out of the ordinary. Bray had a crazy dilemma on his hands. He knew what he made others do, got the basic principles of how it worked, but he and Abigail were different, still pure. They had been raised in the traditional Catholic lifestyle, including the flagellation beatings, thrashing the sin out of him. That hadn't worked he supposed, instead it had backfired greatly. He went with what felt good, what felt right, and knew where the lines were drawn. Abigail was just too precious, too special, and he wanted their first time, both their first time, to be the same.

"I love you, Abigail, you know that, right?" He moaned against her mouth, swiping his tongue along her bottom lip.

If only Bray did, if only she could believe him when he said those beautiful words. They fell on deaf ears with her because of everything he did, everything he'd forced poor, innocents to do in the name of his religion. Still, Abigail knew better than to not respond the correct way and nodded against his lips, burying her fingers in his hair.

"I know you do, Bray. I love you too." That left a bittersweet taste in her mouth because she did love him, in her own way.

Not the Bray he was now, but the Bray back then when they first escaped the horrid foster home. Damned if he couldn't kiss the breath out of her though and make her panties dampen in the process. It was a physical reaction, which was normal for the human body, but…mentally and emotionally, Abigail had shut down long ago and put on a splendid performance. Luckily, Bray couldn't detect the trickery in her, the deceit, the absence of what he craved most from her. She was responding, lighting his blood on fire and he knew he was sending her out into the unknown, which only pressed him on. His mouth roamed the column of her throat, his hands moving to find hers, lacing their fingers together and squeezing briefly before letting go. His hands moved to her waist and then slowly, almost hesitantly, down further, fingertips skimming her backside. His darkened blue eyes searched for hers in the moonlight.

"I want you, Abigail."

She merely smiled at him, though inside Abigail was panicking and hoped he stopped like usual…that tonight wasn't the night he wanted to take her for his own. Abigail was almost free of him, she just had to hold out a little longer until this plan of his came to fruition and then she could find the help she needed to bring down the DOV, to bring Bray down. There was no way she would egg him on further, though it didn't feel good to be touched on her backside because it was a change from the usual song and dance they did together.

"Why me?" That question escaped her before she could stop it, her eyes widening just a fraction and quickly pushed aside the surprise. "There are…other women here, countless women, you could take to your bed and breed with. So, what makes me so important to you, so special, from the others, Bray?"

Bray stared at her in surprise, hurt blossoming through his blue eyes. "That you should ask me that," His voice came out in a harsh whisper, his upper body pulling away from her, though his hands moved back to her waist. "You're MY Abigail." He kissed her forehead, wetness in his eyes that he blinked away. "What we've been through together, what we've suffered," Bray gnashed his teeth, guiding her arms around him until he felt her palms on his back, skimming the scars they both knew too well. "You saved me, Abbie, you saved me so many times." His forehead rolled against hers, his mouth pressing against hers again. "And I, and the Dominion, will deliver this world, renewed and reborn, to you."

Tears filled her eyes, even though she'd heard it plenty of times before, how he was doing this all for her. That meant every woman that was raped and forced to breed, every woman that was ripped from their homes, was her fault. "You saved me too." That was the complete, honest truth.

If Bray hadn't gotten her out of the foster home when he did, Abigail shuddered to think what might have happened with him gone. However, that didn't excuse what Bray was doing. There were other ways to build an army, other ways to change the world in a positive way. Everything he did was negative, and he did it for her, which made her sick to her stomach.

"I-I'm sorry, I just…I haven't asked you that question before and it's been weighing on me. I didn't want you to get mad at me, so…I didn't ask it, but…it kind of slipped out. Please don't be angry with me…"

"I'm never truly angry with you, Abbie, you know this." He sounded almost sullen, more offended and hurt than anything.

She knew what she meant to him, hadn't Bray told her enough? Hadn't he proved it? He had raised an army; he was changing the world. They would be able to grow old under the Dominion of Vesperia, knowing what they had suffered would never happen again. If he had to destroy a few hundred lives to deliver Abigail and himself a perfect world, so be it. He would be forgiven all trespasses, he knew it. He FELT it.

"Hey, look at me, please." Abigail had to make this right somehow and pressed her forehead against his while stroking his back, the scars not bothering her. "Sometimes I feel like…I'm not good enough for you, Bray. You plucked me from obscurity and you didn't have to. You could've escaped the foster home without me and never looked back and built this all on your own." She stroked his face, seeing her words were getting through to him and smiled softly. "I just wanted to make sure I'm what you truly want. I know you've said it and you've more than proven to me how much you love me, but love can also die…and I never want that to happen between us." She kissed him soundly, passionately, not pulling back until they both needed air. "I won't ever ask you that again because I have my answer and I know how you feel, without any doubts. Thank you for telling me."

Just like that, all was right again, and he didn't feel hurt or offended, the smile back on his face. "Lay with me," Bray whispered, laying down on the bed and pulled her with him into his arms. Sighing in contentment, he ran his fingers up her arm, feeling her nestling into his side. "This is how I want it to always be between us, Abbie." He rumbled softly. "Always like this, all right? You and me, promise?"

If only she could actually promise him that, if only he knew how much this hurt her. "You and me forever, Bray. I promise." Abigail whispered, not having a choice in the matter except to say what he wanted and needed to hear.

Luckily, she was a master at deceiving him and felt his arms wrap around her tighter, spooning up against her back. Once again, she could feel his erection digging into her backside, but Abigail didn't move and simply lay there. Staring out the window, she didn't let the tears fall until she heard his deep snoring and even breathing.

* * *

"All right," Luke Harper was one of Bray's most trusted and, while he was a bit sick in the head, was also a brilliant strategist and planner. "So…" It was bright and early with him and Bray was in the war room, a map spread out as they drank their morning coffee and munched on fresh fruit. "You want her to go in as a servant, so she's going to need to look the part." Bray was great coming up with plans, Luke got to help with all the minute details because that was his thing. "So, we'll need to get her some used, but serviceable clothing and not in white."

Seeing Abigail in something besides white… his mind took him back years ago when she had worn nothing except dark colored frocks.

Of course, Abigail was there for the meeting since it revolved around her and the infiltration. She couldn't go in blind, Bray wouldn't allow it. Currently, she wore another white gown with silver etchings throughout it, her hair done and makeup on, looking like the pristine, queen of purity Bray wanted. It sickened her. Abigail could feel Bray's trepidation and slid her hand up his arm, soothing him the best way she knew how.

"Hey, it's okay if I wear color for this. He's right, you don't want me sticking out and he's already been to Wonderful, if I recall correctly. So, he knows what he's talking about." She despised and loathed Luke Harper, but Abigail had to play her cards right. Play the game as it were and play to win. "It would be even better if we could actually GET a set of servant's clothing from Wonderful to pass it off better, hmm?"

"Yeah sure, except I'm the only one who has been and, when I was there, I didn't think about grabbing some crone's clothing." Luke argued, frowning and exchanged looks with Bray. "It's not that much different from some of the stuff the women here wear. We could find one who might know how to sew, and I can draw up a sketch of what the outfits looked like."

"Good idea." Bray wasn't sending someone in just to steal an outfit. It would be risky, especially if anyone noticed the theft.

"Why don't I ask Valerie? She was a women's clothing designer before joining us." That was a very nice way of putting it.

The poor woman had been taken from her home, beaten and raped for weeks before she finally surrendered to the DOV way. It was despicable, but luckily Luke hadn't been the one who had the pleasure of having her. Abigail was to thank for that and she'd told the woman such, which was why they were good friends.

"I will talk to her about it and see what she can come up with. She's a good judge of character and knows the style."

Luke stared at Bray with a raised eyebrow.

"Luke has been to Wonderful, Abigail." He said patiently, his eyes icing over as he returned Luke's look. Bray already knew how this looked and would have to dismiss her from the planning if she didn't keep quiet for a bit. "He already knows the style and knows what we have on hand, and he can give this woman, this Valerie, a description. Why don't you go find something to do while we work out the details?"

Considering he doubted Valerie had seen any 'style' in years and her judgment of character meant dick… good call.

Did he actually just talk down to her in front of this peon?! Abigail had never been so insulted in her life and felt like punching Bray in the nose, knowing that would be grounds for immediate punishment. "You asked me to come to the meeting, Bray." There was no way she would allow him to get away with this. "Why am I here if you're dismissing me so suddenly?" When he just raised a brow at her, Abigail folded her arms in front of her chest and knew he was saving face in front of Luke. She didn't defend herself often, not needing to, but this time he had crossed a line. "Next time, don't invite me to your meeting. Just come and tell me what's going on. Excuse me." Storming out of the room, Abigail closed the door behind her and went to her chambers to scream in a pillow.

Bray held up a hand when Luke started to open his mouth, his own a thinly compressed grim line. Abigail had been placed on a pedestal, by him, but as a general rule, women were not overly valued for their intellect. It was their baby making abilities and that was about it.

"Draw your sketches, get with whatever seamstresses you can find."

Nodding, Luke left Bray to his thoughts.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Still not overly happy, Bray went to find Abigail, easily locating her in her room. He threw open the door, rewarded with her shooting upright from her pillow. "You were invited as a courtesy, Abbie." He said flatly, leaning in the doorway. "You're… offer is appreciated, but not practical. This woman had probably been down in the camps for months, or even years," Providing she was one of the women who birthed more sons than daughters. "We need people who actually know what they are doing, who have actually seen. You need to learn to critically think if you're going to do this." Her outburst had him reassessing this because Bray couldn't afford her getting offended over baubles.

Calm down, cool your jets or you're never going to get out of here, Abigail had to mentally coach herself, swallowing down her anger, her pride, and took a deep, fortifying breath. "You are right. I was out of line and…I apologize, Bray." That left a bitter, sour taste in her mouth to say those words. "I was honestly trying to help, but I overstepped my boundaries and…you were gracious enough to invite me to the meeting." All women were to Bray were babymakers, breeders, nothing more and it sickened Abigail to no end. "I-I will take whatever punishment you deem fit to give me…My Lord." VERY rarely did she call him that, but she had to warm up to Bray again and this was the best way to do it. "Please forgive my insolence, it will not happen again." Just to make sure he believed her, Abigail lowered to her knees in front of him on the bed and bowed her head, clasping her hands together in front of her.

Seeing Abigail in that position, kneeling before him and hearing her calling him 'my Lord', Bray wasn't sure what to make of it. On one hand, this was his Abbie, his best friend, and his most true companion throughout these long years. Then again, she was a woman who had challenged him in front of a trusted adviser. She had put him in a stupid spot. He treated her differently from everyone else, and in the DOV, it was complicated. During the many sermons, many teachings, women were told that the trials and tribulations they were suffering were holy and righteous. Abigail would be their holy Mother, a new Madonna as it were. In the end, she would be their salvation and he had every intention of being hers. But that moment wasn't here just yet, soon… very soon. And until then… He ran a hand down his face.

"You know better, Abbie." He said finally, his gravelly voice serious and stern.

"There's no excuse for my actions, My Lord. Please forgive me."

Abigail felt lower than dirt begging to be forgiven, for merely speaking her mind and trying to help. This was ridiculous! The sooner she was out of this castle, the better, but first, she had to get on Bray's good side again. When he moved forward and raised his hand, she did her best not to flinch and breathed out silently when it merely rested on her head. Looking up at him with tear-filled eyes, Abigail once again apologized for no reason and leaned into Bray's touch, her hand raising to clasp his against her cheek. A single tear trickled down her cheek and it wasn't because she was sorry, it was because she was terrified of this monster.

"Bray, I'm so sorry…"

She had looked like she was terrified that he would strike her, which Bray had never done before, so why would she think he would now? He had been there, seen the abuse Abigail had suffered, just as she had seen the horrors inflicted upon him. He needed air and there were other matters to attend too.

"You're forgiven." It came out brusque than he had intended, but there it was. "I will see you at dinner." Bray pulled his hand away and walked out of the room, his eyes icing over. He wasn't surprised when Erick Rowan, another most loyal, fell into step behind him. "I want a review of the women, those who have birthed males. I want our serum to go on them." He wasn't about to waste it on female babies.

Good heavens, that was close! Abigail swallowed hard, wiping her tears away and knew she had to tread VERY carefully from now on until it was time to infiltrate the Undertaker's domain. Walking over to the window, Abigail leaned against the ledge and looked out at the long stretch of land they lived in, taking another deep breath.

"Undertaker…you better be ready for what I have to offer. You're my last hope to end this once and for all." She whispered, eyebrows furrowing together and hoped she was doing the right thing, hoping this didn't backfire on her.

* * *

"Do we have any intel on this Undertaker?"

"He's big, tall… that's about it." Luke answered as they walked the camps, Bray's ice blue eyes not missing anything as he took inventory of the women scurrying around, while men trained. "When he goes out of Wonderful, he's… disguised." None of them really knew what he looked like. "A lot of his men are built the same though. You could have fought him already and you would never know."

"What kind of disguises?"

"You would need to talk to Malcolm. His theory is that the Undertaker has a talisman that allows him to change his appearance."

This had been bothering Luke for a while and it was high time he brought the subject up, clearing his throat. "My liege, there is something that troubles me…about your relationship with Sister Abigail." Nobody called her anything except that, due to the religious nature. Or M'lady…some even called her Queen Abigail, though Luke never had. When Bray's icy blues met his, Luke hesitated, but decided to speak his mind. "Sire, I know Abigail is…special to you and whatnot, but don't you think it's time to have her start breeding? You need heirs to the DOV, to carry on your legacy when you eventually perish. She's 26-years-old and…not getting any younger, My Lord. And I am not the only one who fears this happening. A lot of us believe it's time you breed with her and have her do what a woman does best…" Open her legs and allow the seeds of DOV to flow through her.

"I've been thinking of that as well." Bray confessed, running his fingers through his long brown hair, ruffling it, his brow creasing in a frown. He knew it was hypocritical, other women breeding and he kept one for his own 'pleasure' as it were, without touching her, without producing an heir. "I want to ensure she'll produce sons first." It would look quite bad if his Queen bore him a daughter as his first child. "After this mission is complete, after we have the Mythril, then I will bed her."

That made sense and Luke felt marginally better about the situation, thankful his Lord hadn't cut him down for asking about Sister Abigail. "Do you believe the Mythril will ensure she bores you a son?"

At Bray's nod, Luke smiled and clapped him on the shoulder, already knowing his Lord hadn't bedded any woman in his lifetime, which was a damn shame. Bray was a handsome, strong man and any woman would've been lucky to breed with him. However, he had remained steadfast in his belief that Abigail was his one and only, no other man would touch her. As much as Luke longed to have Abigail, even for a night, or long enough to breed with her, he knew it would never happen and instead took the other women they brought into the DOV to bed…even if they weren't willing. He wondered what it would be like to hear Abigail scream while penetrating her, a sick smile crossing his face at the thought.

"Will you go talk to Malcolm then about this talisman theory?"

"Yes, a lead is a lead and we need all the intel we can before sending her."

He was glad Luke hadn't pressed any more issues; it would pain him to beat the life out of a man he considered his friend. Bray would not, however, be taking Abigail with him. She had already cost him a little pride today and he didn't need any more questions concerning her status.

"Go speak with the seamstress, tell her what you want and have her get to work." He watched as Luke got a sick smirk on his face, his own lips spreading upwards in amusement. "And Luke? She will need her fingers for this task…"

"Oh, I know that…" Luke got an even sicker smirk, his eyes gleaming with pure wicked intentions. "She'll be able to use her fingers…doesn't mean I can't bend her over the table while she's performing the task though, does it?" At Bray's head shake, he laughed and walked off to find Valerie, a woman he had bedded and bred with on more than several occasions. She was used to his volatile nature and ways, always doing whatever asked of her like a good little, obedient breeder.

Malcolm was not surprised when Bray came back to visit him, not surprised by Abigail's absence. She had overstepped her boundaries this morning; she was lucky she was in her position; any other woman would have been strangled to death. He had seen Bray, in a fit of rage, choke the life out a woman who had given birth to nothing except daughters.

"I want to know about the Undertaker, and how you think he disguises himself. Luke said you had theories."

Heaving a sigh, Malcolm did not want to upset his liege with false data, trying to think of the right way to say what he wanted. "There's…a rumor, a theory, mind you, so I don't know how accurate it is, about the Undertaker. He…goes around disguising himself…and he has a special talisman that was passed down through his family. I don't know how true this is, it seems pretty far-fetched since I am the only magical entity in existence. But there ARE relics out in Vesperia that do hold magical abilities, but they are very rare and hard to find." If Undertaker had one of those relics, a talisman…it would explain why his domain was impenetrable.

Bray stared at Malcolm, drumming his fingers on the table beside him. "What exactly do you think this talisman does? Allows him to change his appearance?"

"Well, I think it does more than that. I think it is also what keeps us from being able to invade. A protective bubble, if you will."

Interesting, but odd. "So… you are the only sorcerer in Vesperia, but there is a magical talisman out there that defies all natural and magical laws and properties?" One eyebrow was raising. His sorcerer was approaching the endangered species list.

"My liege…as I said, it's a theory and I don't know if it's true or not. I DO know one thing for certain: Many have tried to face the Undertaker, to invade Wonderful and NONE have succeeded. They've either been killed or shown mercy and let into his ranks. He's…strong, My Lord…and the only explanation is he has magic on his side somehow, someway." For all they knew, the bastard could be inside their domain now and they would never know it because of his disguises. "Instead of focusing on the Mythril, why not have Sister Abigail put her focus into finding out what exactly makes the Undertaker as powerful as he is? If we could somehow get the talisman from him, or whatever magical relic he possesses, you would surely be able to invade and take Wonderful as your own as you've done the rest of the towns."

Casually, Bray picked up a nearby candle and crooked a finger at Malcolm.

"My Lord?"

His eyes were on the flame, swallowing hard. Malcolm had probably crossed a few too many lines today, on top of Abigail's own transgressions. When those eyes just narrowed into slits, he reluctantly walked to his liege. He took Malcolm's hand and moved it over the flame, watching his sorcerer intently.

"The Mythril is my priority, Malcolm." Bray said in a friendly manner, feeling Malcolm's hand trembling violently as he held it over that flame, knowing the damage it would cause. "She is going in as a servant. Getting anywhere near the Undertaker isn't going to happen right away, not if he's as clever as you all seem to think. It's a secondary priority, do you understand?"

When Bray had his mind set on a particular task, there was no swaying him from it. Malcolm had learned that the hard way. "Y-Yes, my liege, understood!" He shouted out, the fire burning his hand and knew better than to pull away.

This was his punishment for speaking his mind without permission. Malcolm was a fool and it hadn't been the first time since he'd been punished. What was he thinking advising Bray to do anything? He should've just told him what he knew and kept his mouth shut about the rest!

"I-I will help however you see fit, my liege, I swear it! PLEASE!"

"Damn right you will." Bray pushed the flame up until it smothered against Malcolm's palm, aggravating the burn he had made by the hot, melting wax now adhering to Malcolm's skin. He refused to let go, even as his sorcerer trembled from fear and pain. "There is a reason tactical thinking is left to others, Malcolm. You have no sense for it."

"Y-yes my Lord, of course, Sire, you're r-right."

Smiling, Bray let go of the other man and watched as Malcolm cradled his hand to his chest, snorting. Pathetic. He had taken horrific beatings as a child, suffered near starvation, countless horrors and he bore his scars proudly. He had survived, and he had a purpose.

"Good. Now, about this talisman, what exactly should she keep an eye out for, if she's lucky enough to even get that close? Same for the Mythril." Abigail had never seen Mythril, it was that rare. He hadn't either, not in its raw form.

The first chance presented to him, Malcolm was leaving the Dominion, or escaping rather, and taking his granddaughter with him. Her mother had been killed, after having three daughters in a row – HIS own daughter – had been taken and ripped from him because of this fiend. Malcolm couldn't handle the punishments and disgrace anymore. He'd been taken from his loving home, his wife killed before his eyes and forced to serve Bray Wyatt and the DOV.

"I-I don't know, m-my l-liege…" Of course, Malcolm had information, but he wasn't about to give it up now that his hand was severely burnt, blisters already forming. "I-I've never s-seen M-Mythril up-close b-before or this t-talisman…I-I have no other i-information, I-I'm sorry…" He was in so much pain, tears stinging his eyes.

Bray stared down into Malcolm's eyes, finally nodding. "Of course, of course, Malcolm, I believe you." He lied very openly, his tone dripping with venom. "I do think, however, that I'll have Luke Harper ask your granddaughter, Susan, a few things, just to be on the safe side, hmm?" When Malcolm began sputtering and stammering, he grabbed the smaller man by the throat. "Lie to me again and I will cut out your filthy tongue and make your precious Susan EAT IT!" If Malcolm was smart, he'd start telling the truth immediately.

"I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ELSE!" Malcolm screamed bloody murder, tears pouring down his face as he clutched his hand against his chest, knowing it was infected already.

Upstairs – hell, she was pretty sure the entire castle heard the screaming – Abigail went about her business as usual, which was…walking around and being bored out of her mind. She couldn't wait to get out of this castle. Torturing was a form of punishment in the DOV, when one wasn't being truthful, and Bray could somehow sense when someone was lying to him…except Abigail. She was the only one who could snow him and make him believe what she wanted. When she heard another scream, she couldn't handle it anymore and stood up from the table to go outside for some much-needed fresh air. Bray would steer clear of her after what happened that morning and she was grateful for it, not wanting to be near him.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

In the end, Bray commuted Malcolm's punishment because the sorcerer was lying. When all was said and done, Malcolm told him exactly what he knew, what signs to look for, and what Mythril in its raw form looked like. Bray made sketches and took notes, not about to send his beloved Abigail out into the unknown unprepared. He would not do it and he would not brook disobedience or defiance. There would be no lying.

"Luke… remove Susan's tongue."

"But… I told you everything!"

"You did. After I had to punish you. I shouldn't need to do that, Malcolm." Bray argued patiently. "I'm afraid you've been pampered; you're used to my leniency. We'll correct that." He spoke gently, like a parent to a child.

One the females, a child still not near breeding age, who had been put to work as a servant in the castle, since cooking, cleaning and breeding was all females were good for, had heard that and finished her job, cleaning out embers from the fireplace. She hefted her heavy bucket and walked out, head down and quiet as always. She needed to find Sister Abigail.

* * *

"What?!" Abigail glanced over at the beautiful brown-haired girl, that wasn't even a year old yet, chasing a butterfly.

Her heart pounded vigorously in her chest as she watched Luke Harper come toward the girl, not surprised when Susan began to resist. Right there, in the courtyard, in front of everyone, including her, he proceeded to hold her down by straddling her, whipped a knife out and proceeded to cut her tongue out. The gagging noises, the blood spurting out of the poor girl's mouth…Abigail had to look away and then watched as Susan was raped. Luke had broken one of the main rules of the DOV by raping a woman in front of an audience, instead of doing the deed behind closed doors. Abigail rushed off inside the castle to go tell Bray what one of his most trusted had done and couldn't wait to watch the bastard be punished for insubordination.

"I'm sorry, Abigail, that it upset you." Bray said when she found him and told him what she had seen, reaching out to cup her face gently. Sighing, he bent down to kiss her forehead, wishing he could have shielded her from that sight. "But… an example had to be made. People are getting too lax, forgetting the driving force of the Dominion and what we are trying to accomplish. Before this hour ends, what happened out there will be known to every last follower and they will know the reason why it was allowed."

No exceptions were that message and he would strike down with a holy and just punishment. This was just another reason why she had to get away from here, out of this castle, and out of the DOV. This was madness. He allowed one of his right-hands to break the rules by raping that poor, defenseless girl, AFTER cutting her tongue out!

"I-If you don't mind, I-I'm going to my room. I-I need to be alone right now…and I'm not feeling good."

Pulling back, his hands left her face and she'd only done it because they were alone at the moment. She knew better than to do it in front of people because it 'cut him down'. Ridiculous! Abigail let the tears fall and let him SEE her tears before she backed away from him, not recognizing this monster anymore.

"I won't be down for dinner, I-I hope you understand why. Good night, Bray." Bowing her head, she walked out of the room and ran to her own, throwing up as soon as she was completely alone in her private bathroom.

Bray let her go, knowing he had to go out and be seen, preach the word of the DOV, so they knew that this breach in protocol had been for a valid reason. If their leaders, if his most trusted, couldn't be trusted, then there was sin afoot and it had to be stamped out. They had to all remember their place, their reasons, and he would remind them. Luke, because he was just that kind of person, when he was done with Susan and had sent her packing to be tended too, had taken her tongue. He had taken it down to the cooks.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Bray strategized with Abigail on what to do, how to act, and instructed one of the women, who had drifted from Wonderful, to coach her on how to portray herself. Bray looked disturbed as Lily told her all about Wonderful and how equally everyone was treated, the women were just as important as the men. Abigail assured him that Lily was fully with the DOV and appreciated breeding to help build their cause, their DOV empire. That seemed to settle Bray down some and Abigail continued listening, deciding once Bray was out of the room, she would warn Lily NOT to upset Bray by talking about how 'great' Wonderful was.

Before she knew it, the night had arrived where she would depart the castle and Abigail would've lied if she said she wasn't nervous. Bray assured her everything would be alright, raining kisses on her face and then allowed her to change into the black skirt and a soft lavender long-sleeved top. It was such a change, a difference from the pure white she was always forced to wear. Bray had a car brought around for her and once again, they went over her story for when she infiltrated Wonderful.

"My name is Abbie, I'm from Salny and I'm seeking a new beginning and refuge from the Dominion of Vesperia." She reiterated, a bag packed in her hand.

They had decided she wouldn't be coming back until she had surefire proof of where the Mythril was located and if it was even in the Undertaker's domain, along with some kind of talisman. Bray hadn't gone into details, just told her what to look and watch out for. Putting her bag in the trunk, he turned her around again and kissed her, keeping hold of her face tightly. He didn't realize it, but this would be the last time he saw Abigail for a long time…until she came back with reinforcements to bring him down or…in a body bag from the Undertaker killing her.

"Is it wise," Luke watched the car drive off, knowing it would drop her a few miles from the borders of Wonderful. She had been given a map to memorize and then destroy, but it would look awfully suspicious for a servant woman to arrive seeking appropriate employment in a vehicle. "To not require her to check in every few weeks?"

No, it wasn't, he thought, eyes narrowing as his head tipped to the side. "What's done is done."

"Of course."

Checking in was too risky. Bray had been the one to tell her the plans had slightly changed, slightly altered. He wanted her to get close enough to the Undertaker to be able to find out the location of the Mythril as well as if the talisman theory was the truth. Not to mention, if she was going in claiming to seek employment, a new beginning, as a servant girl, after leaving her 'home', why would she need to check in with them? It would be too suspicious, and Abigail was thankful to be rid of Bray Wyatt and the DOV for the time being.

It was a solid plan, but that meant she would not be checking in, only coming back, according to Bray, when she had the information he needed. That wasn't going to happen, however. Once the car stopped, a few miles from Wonderful, Abigail stepped out, grabbed her bag and watched it race off before her eyes moved to the stretch of road before her. It was a couple of miles north and Abigail breathed in the night air, letting a few happy tears slide down her cheeks because she was finally free. Now, it was time to liberate everyone from the DOV, but that would take a lot of time and effort.

"One step at a time." She murmured, hoping what Lily said about Wonderful was the truth because she couldn't handle watching women being raped, beaten and tortured on a daily basis anymore.

A woman traveling at night, by herself, was just poor common sense. "Oi, you see that?"

"No…" That was because he wasn't the one looking through the night vision binoculars. "Gimme a turn." He raised them, looking for a few moments and then frowned. "That a woman?"

"Aye, poor gal… she's likely to be picked up by them roving bastards."

"Probably. We'll keep an eye on her from time to time." They had to stand watch, keeping their eyes to the south.

"I wonder what the hell she's doing out there all alone…"

Her black hair was braided, currently hanging over her shoulder. It was waist length, Bray refused to let her cut it after begging with her to leave it alone. Just another choice taken away from her. White shoes were on her feet, a little scuffed to give the illusion she had come a long way. The bag in her hand was a little heavy, but nothing Abigail couldn't handle and, again, gave the illusion she had left home to pursue a new beginning elsewhere. It was a believable enough story, she hoped anyway.

Bray had, personally, taken an additional step in her disguise. Abigail was meant to have been walking quite some distance and a servant… he had rubbed her face in embers and then washed only a bit of it off, doing the same with her hands. Making sure the black remained in the lines, giving her the impression of someone who actually served.

"Why don't we send someone out to get her?"

"Because after dark, that's against the rules?"

"I'll send out a runner, it'll be quick."

"Don't let Steve catch ya, he'll have your balls…"

About a mile from Wonderful's gates, Abigail was stopped by a man with kind dark eyes, long black hair and a smile. At first, she didn't think he was coming for her, but that quickly changed when he stopped in front of her. Abigail swallowed hard, keeping her distance and hesitantly sized him up. This man was HUGE, muscular and built like a brick house.

"I-I don't want any trouble, sir. I'm just trying to get to the next town…" She spoke up in a low, quiet voice, hoping the men in Wonderful weren't rapist pigs like back at the DOV. "Please…"

"You ain't gonna get none either, ma'am. I'm here to escort you into the city walls for the night." He saluted her with two fingers, chuckling at the look on her scummy face. "Lady, it ain't safe out here and the big boss, he don't like folks out wandering." Which was true, but they were usually not supposed to go out and bring strangers in after dark. Wonderful had some serious bleeding hearts. "Come on now, let's go. You can stay in the common house for the night and get back to your business in the morning."

Everyone who walked through the gates to the city had to go through the scanner, something powered by the big boss himself, and nobody got in with a weapon of any kind. Nail files wound up setting off an alert. Austin had cracked a lot of jokes about that the first time it happened. This man worked for the 'big boss', which had to be Undertaker. Was this one of Undertaker's men? It had to be! Fate was on her side, apparently.

"O-Okay…thank you…"

She had no idea what to call him and he hadn't bothered giving her a name, just guided her, with his hand on the small of her back, the rest of the way into Wonderful. He stood well over 6 feet, muscular and had long black hair, along with a matching goatee, dressed all in black. The moment she stepped inside, it was like a whole new world full of life, laughter, and spirit. Abigail wiped some of the soot off her cheeks, trying to make herself look somewhat presentable and felt eyes on her with every step she took. The man guided her to a place called the common house, just as he said and left her there, wishing her well. He assured her they would take care of her and then went back to his post for the evening. She had thanked him before venturing inside, feeling as though her heart would leap from her chest from how hard it pounded.

"Jesus Chris look at you, you're so damn scummy!" A brown-haired woman with kind blue eyes laughed when she spotted the woman coming in. "Fuck… hey Amy, get some hot water and a bar of that soap, the scented!"

She ran the common house and, those who couldn't pay her fees, they had to sign their name and whatever else on the ledger for the big boss to review and pay for out of the community funds. It all circulated within Wonderful and, since money had kind of gone the way of proper civilization, they tended to use valuable goods as currency. Since Wonderful was one of the last bastions of actual freedom, they had been cut off from the majority of Vesperia, actual currency, like paper money, was hard to come by.

"Come here honey, let's do a lice check really quick. I'm Stephanie, by the way."

Lice?! She didn't have lice! This woman was out of her mind! Abigail suddenly remembered what she was doing here in the first place, having forgotten, momentarily, her past life with Bray and the DOV, nodding hesitantly.

"T-Thank you." She stammered, a little taken aback by how…free the women were here.

If the women back at the castle spoke the way Stephanie just did, she would've been severely punished. Abigail was waiting for a man to come and do the punishing, but none came. This was very strange to her. All Abigail could do was allow Stephanie to lead her to sit down on a nearby bed and lowered her head for the lice check.

"So, this is our little getting to know you room and most people hate it." Stephanie explained, chewing her gum noisily. "But we do lice checks in here and you'll have to strip, just down to your underwear. Gotta make sure you don't have any open sores, or wounds, or anything, you know? We've got a decent stock of medical supplies, but if you have something contagious… you were vaccinated, right? Before all this shit went down with those fucking Dominion assholes?"

"Yes, I'm up-to-date on my shots."

Without Bray's knowledge, she had asked Malcolm to administer the shots to her, not wanting to take any chances with diseases. Bray was against any type of vaccination and had destroyed the neighboring towns that had any kind of medicine to be injected in the human body. Just another reason she knew he was insane and out of his mind.

"My name is Abigail." She answered when Stephanie asked, slowly removing her clothes to reveal pale, unblemished skin all the way around.

"Good, good, now I have to ask you something personal. Any STDs or…?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Her cheeks burned a bright red. "No. I'm…um…I'm a virgin…" Couldn't get an STD without having sex, after all.

"Oh shit, that don't mean nothin', sweetie. You could get an STD just from swapping bodily fluids." Stephanie laughed, shaking her head at the pink cheeks that Abigail sported. "Yeah, so… we'll take your word for it though. You don't look like the kissing type." No offense meant, Abigail just looked too virginal. After they were done with the physical exam, Stephanie noted the details down in the ledger, turning to give the other woman some privacy to redress. "Okay, Abigail, where are you from and what brings you our way?" Obviously, she was unarmed because she had gotten through the gates without them going off.

"Salny. And I'm here to…well, I left home after my Mom died. There was nothing left for me there. I'm just hoping I can find a job and start making my own way. I've been traveling from town to town, searching for a job, but so far, I've come up empty…and I'm running low on funds." Bray had given her enough money to get her started here and then her job as a servant, hopefully, would pay her way until she could go back to the castle. "I can pay for the services here, how much do I owe you for your hospitality, Stephanie?"

"Wait, what? Traveling from town to town?" Stephanie was staring at Abigail like she was out of her mind. "You do know the world is at war, right? Towns aren't exactly, um… they don't really exist." Salny was a pretty far off distance and her eyes dropped down to the scuffed white shoes, cocking an eyebrow. "How'd you manage to avoid the DOV?" Obviously, she had because Abigail didn't look battered, abused or pregnant and everyone knew what happened to women in the DOV. They were cattle, brood mothers.

Abigail had to tread carefully with what she said next, swallowing hard and clasped her hands in her lap, already redressed. "I…stayed away from them. I used the woods and shelters in various towns on my way here. Truthfully, it wasn't easy and…I didn't think I would actually make it to Wonderful. My Mom…she told me all about this place and how great it was. She told me on her deathbed to come here, that I'd be safe from the DOV." Wrapping her arms around herself, Abigail let out a shuddering breath and wiped a stray tear away from her still dirty face. "I didn't realize it until that man brought me through the gates that this was my actual destination. My Mom was right. I just hope I can…start over here and make her proud of me, somehow." In every way, she meant that with her whole heart. "I don't blame you if you don't believe me. I know it's a pretty outrageous story, huh?"

Amy's heart went out to the poor thing, hearing and feeling the sadness radiating from her and could tell Stephanie was touched as well.

"Nope, you're not special sweetie." Stephanie reassured her. "We get those stories quite a bit, well… from the ones that make it this far."

"I'll go see what's left from supper and get her a dish." Amy strolled out into the main room, which was lit up, tables and chairs everywhere as people wound down their night. "Hey, get your hand outta there, save some for others."

"Rude much, Red?"

"Eat me, Austin." Amy laughed.

"So, work huh? What kind of work?" Stephanie asked, tossing her hair over her shoulder and led the way out of the small room and into the main. "Trish, get off the table, someone cut her off."

Women could drink alcohol? Since when? Women in the DOV were not allowed to drink a drop of alcohol due to constantly getting pregnant. It wasn't good for the babies growing inside of them. Abigail watched in awe as a busty, petite blonde sauntered over to the bald-headed man Stephanie called Austin and tossed her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately. What the HELL? Public affection was allowed too? What kind of world had she stepped into? This was the polar opposite of the DOV, of Bray's world!

"I-I'm not sure…I haven't really thought about it and figured tomorrow, I would go around to the local businesses here." There were quite a few too. "See what I can find unless you have a suggestion?" Abigail had to avert her gaze from the sloppy making out couple and walked over to the table Stephanie gestured to, sitting down while the redhead set a bowl of what looked to be chili in front of her. It smelled delicious and even had cornbread to go with it. "Thank you…Amy, right?" The redhead nodded, and Abigail immediately dug in, suddenly starving.

"Hey, you said you had money, right?"

"That's rude, Steph…" Amy scowled, dropping down a large mug of milk next in front of Abigail.

"Well come on, when was the last time you saw… holy shit," Abigail had pulled out old paper money and some silver pieces. "Are you kidding me? Some people still use this?"

"Sorry sweetie, that stuff is no good here."

"It is when we're out of toilet paper…"

"Shut up, Steve. Don't you have to go check in?"

"Soon enough, Red, go get me a plate for the big guy."

"His ass still holed up in the old tower?" Amy shook her head when Steve just shrugged, pushing herself up again and disappeared back into the kitchen.

"Wait…" Now Abigail was confused, frowning as she looked from Stephanie to Amy's retreating form and then back down at the money she had. "What exactly do you use for currency around here?" She tilted her head, not understanding why they wouldn't take her money, especially silver pieces. Didn't those go for a nice chunk of change? Apparently not in Wonderful. "I'm sorry…that's all I have on me…"

She frowned, hating that Bray had given her money that was no good in this place. Abigail overheard what Amy said about the big guy being holed up in his tower. Was that the huge tower she'd seen as she passed through the gates? It had to be. That was where the Undertaker resided…and something told her he didn't leave his tower often. This was going to be a lot more difficult than she thought.

Steve was paying attention to Abigail now, bringing over his beer to sit down across from her and examined the money, feeling the thin paper between his fingers. "We use things that are necessary, honey." He raised curious blue eyes up to study her. "Money ain't good to anyone anymore, what the hell are we going to use it for? Lines for trading with other towns have been cut off systematically as the DOV grows, so we have to trade for services, or food, or medicine. Some people may want something pretty and shiny… so keep your coins."

"O-Okay, but…I don't have a way to pay for the services here…"

"No sweat honey, we have a contingency for people such as yourself." Stephanie informed her with a smile, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Abigail shook her head, refusing to be made out as a charity case and stood up from the table. "Let me…help out around here, just for tonight until my bill is paid. I can cook and clean, do dishes, whatever you need." She offered, hoping to show off some of her skills that would push her in the direction of the Undertaker. "I won't let you down. You've been kind to me and…I want to repay you for your generosity."

Steve held his hands up, not knowing what to say to that and drained the rest of his beer. "Hell, let the little lady help." He was going to tell Taker about the newcomer, his curiosity burning about her for some reason he couldn't explain. It was a…unsettling feeling being around her.

"Send her with Taker's tray, take her up." Stephanie had seen the speculating look on Steve's face, her own baby blues mirroring it.

"Good idea." Steve tapped his knuckles on the table, staring at Abigail. "You can bring a tray up, and I'll fill you in on how the town works while we walk." He had to get back to work anyway. "Red, where's that food?"

"Up your ass!" She shouted, carrying a very large, laden supper tray. "I'll spill this on you, Austin."

"Mm." He gestured to Abigail. "You wanted to be useful, honey." Steve went to the counter near the door, reaching underneath it to retrieve his guns and a large crate filled with packed meals for his boys on watch. "Let's go."

"Yes, sir." She blinked when he froze, midnight blues widening.

"Steve, honey, just Steve. We're not formal 'round here."

Abigail cracked a small smile, holding the tray perfectly still and nodded to show she understood. "Alright, Steve, lead the way."

This was it. She was about to go meet the Undertaker and could feel her heart thundering powerfully in her chest. Abigail couldn't come right out and ask for his help, that would be suicide. No, she would have to bide her time and figure out a way to get close to him without being suspicious. Bray wasn't a patient man and would expect her back in a few months, at the latest, so Abigail had to act fast, but be careful while doing it.

Steve led the way out into the town, noting residents were heading home. Vendors had long cleared and the streetlamps were on, for a little while longer, then it would be power off across Wonderland. He guided her to a stone wall, pushing through a heavy door and then started climbing the stairs. The tower, they would get to it, but he took her the long way, dropping off meals to the men on watch and gave her basic information about Wonderful. Eventually, they reached the entrance to the tower and he rang a bell, waiting patiently until the steel door opened.

Abigail soaked in as much knowledge as she could about Wonderful, not asking questions right out the gate because that would be suspicious. Hell, she didn't even care about the Mythril anyway. As far as she was concerned, Bray could stick that up his backside because she wasn't here for him. She was here for herself and to liberate the poor people, mostly women, from the DOV. When that steel door opened, Abigail came face to face with a giant, swallowing nervously as he leaned in the doorway.

"Evenin' Taker, came to bring yer food and figure you'd wanna know the latest newcomer. Say hi, honey."

Midnight blues met acidic green and she felt her breath stolen for a few seconds, pretty sure her heart also skipped a beat. "H-Hi…" It was a soft, timid tone, barely audible and somehow, she'd kept the tray perfectly still.

Acidic green was about all she could see because it was dark behind him. Snorting, he flicked on the light to reveal a pale purple, hard material mask over his eyes. His gaze moved from Steve to the woman and back to Steve.

"Her arms are trembling." He said finally, turning and gestured for them to follow.

Taker wore simple black jeans and a long-sleeved, black thermal top, his shortly cropped, auburn hair gleaming under the lights as he moved. Steve eyeballed Abigail. Taker was right, her arms were shaking pretty badly, and bowls and silverware were clattering on that heavy tray. He took it from her and turned, following after Taker.

"Why is she here, Austin?" He asked, settling himself behind an old, dark stained wooden table, papers and maps scattered around. Taker shifted things aside, making room for the tray.

"She wanted to work off a debt to Steph."

"Hm." He reached up to remove the mask.

Steve flinched because, a week ago, Taker had been out patrolling and had a skirmish with the DOV. He had taken an iron bar to his left eye, broken orbital bone. Taker wore the mask to protect it from any further damage while it healed and probably to spare people the ugly sight.

The giant spared Abigail a look, eyes raking over her, appraising her. "Who are you and why are you here?"

"My name is Abigail, Undertaker."

She remembered what Steve told her about the formality and didn't break eye contact with the giant. That would be a big mistake. No wonder Bray was afraid of him, the size of this man was incredible.

"Abigail Waters. I come from Salny."

With precision and a surprisingly steady voice, Abigail reiterated her story about being from Salny and her mother dying, not changing a single thing. That was crucial to any lie. She had learned over the past 10 years being stuck with a sociopath, after all. Since she kept her story straight with no changes, the skepticism from Steve vanished a little, though he still felt uneasy for some odd reason. Maybe it was too much beer, or those bitches had drugged him at the bar.

"I'm not looking for any trouble, I just wanted a fresh start after losing my Mom and she told me to come here for that new beginning. Unfortunately, the money she gave me is…outdated and I didn't realize it. Some other places I've been to still take silver coins and regular paper money…" Abigail took the tray from Steve with a smile and set it down on the nearby table in front of Taker. "If you don't have room for me here, I'll understand and be on my way in the morning…"

"And just where the hell are ya gonna go? The DOV?"

Her eyes hardened slightly. "No. Never." Again, she added in thought, keeping the smile on her face.

"We got plenty of room here for ya, little lady. No need to leave when yer ass is safe here, right Taker?"

"Steve has an unfortunate flaw. He trusts too easily." Taker said without emotion in his tone. "In fact, most people do when they hear a sob story like yours. It makes you seem vulnerable and sad, and people are naturally going to like you because of it."

"You're such an ass." Steve said it quietly.

"I'm honest." He had no time for sugar coating or lies; a lot of people had trusted him with their safety. "There is room, however, providing you're useful."

Everyone had to help. It was honest work, but hard on occasion. Taker never sent people out on suicide runs; he didn't demand anything he wasn't willing to do himself. Except the elderly, pregnant women and children under a certain age. The older children generally helped out with menial chores, but they also had plenty of time for education and play.

"What do you know how to do?"

It was understanding why he was cautious and a tad cold with his words, not mincing them, but Abigail admired that. He watched out for his people and did what was necessary to ensure their safety. Yes, it would take a lot of time and effort on her part to gain his trust, and then she could ask for his help, come clean to him about who she truly was. Hopefully, by then, he wouldn't rip her head off her shoulders, which looked to be very possible.

"I can cook and clean, for sure. It depends on what jobs need to be done around here. I will tell you if I'm unable to do a task assigned, if you wish?" Bray hadn't really taught her how to do those things and often berated her for helping around the castle, but Abigail felt an obligation and duty to help with their home.

"Come to me." He ordered, now surveying his food and reached for the chunk of bread Amy had sent, tearing it in two while he stared at her. "Now, Abigail." His tone clearly indicated he expected to be obeyed.

"Go on, honey. His bark is worse than his bite." Austin encouraged gently, softly.

Taker watched as Abigail slowly approached him. He had noticed when she had been carrying that tray that everything on it had shook. Her arms had been visibly trembling under the weight and what likely had been a long walk here.

"Hold out your hands." He dipped his bread into the stew, watching as she extended her arms. "Palms up."

It took Steve a moment to realize what Taker was doing and now he realized what Stephanie had been speculating on. He moved closer.

"You have never worked a day in your life…" He said quietly. "Or, if you have, it was a very, very long time ago." He traced a finger along the length of her palm. "Soft. No callouses. No scratches." His own, rough fingers ran down her palm again, feeling the very noticeable differences between them.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It was true. Bray didn't allow her to do much around the castle chore-wise because she was considered his Queen. Royalty in the Dominion. He didn't take that into account when sending her here, but Abigail was flexible. Also, in the foster home, she was forced to do menial tasks such as cleaning, dishes, taking out the trash and scrubbing the floors with a toothbrush if she got out of line.

"You are right, I haven't. My mother is the one who worked and supported us. I cooked and cleaned the house, but that was about it. I've never had an honest working experience and, when she died, I had to learn how to survive on my own. It's been…difficult without her and makes me realize how much I took her for granted." Pulling her hands away from him, Abigail started thinking this was a big mistake coming here, to Wonderful, because everyone was skeptical of her, something she hadn't expected. Still, he was her only hope – her LAST hope and chance – to bring Bray Wyatt down and the DOV, once and for all. "If you give me a chance, I won't disappoint you, Undertaker."

"Stephanie will be able to help find you something to do. You may have a bed at the common house for now."

They had proper housing, but that was usually reserved for people who had been here awhile, with families. Building onto Wonderful was something he and Steve had been discussing, but that would require expanding the wall. Taker was still thinking on how to do that without overtaxing himself.

"You coming out tonight, boss or…"

He shook his head, more focused on eating, though he was observing Abigail thoughtfully. Finally, he raised a hand, dismissing them.

"Come on, honey, let's go get you bunked for the night."

"Thank you."

Abigail followed Steve out of the room and down the stairs back outside, the night air crisp and cool against her skin. Nobody was allowed outside at night at the castle, mostly due to the fact that's when the breeding would take place. Abigail looked down at her hands, soft and barely touched. She didn't know what true hard work was. She didn't know what hardship was because she'd been pampered by Bray, for the most part, since age 16. The walk back was made in silence and Abigail walked back into the common house, seeing the mess the hall/bar was in. Dishes, garbage…did people really not know how to throw their trash away? Apparently not.

"Gather the dishes and put them in the back. Do you know how to do dishes?"

A few times she'd done them at the castle, but Bray had put a stop to it. "I will learn, no matter how long it takes." She started the water and looked at the huge bottle of soap on the counter, pouring some in as the bubbles began to form.

"That's good, but next time, don't use that much. Otherwise, you'll have a sink full of suds and won't be able to find the dishes."

"Okay."

"Sorry," Stephanie said after realizing she probably sounded like a total ass. "I'm tired, it's been a long fucking day. And… you don't want to slop bubbles all over the floor." She looked down at the floor, sighing. "Mind you, it probably needs it. Steve, send in some help please, I want these tables moved. This floor is filthy…"

"I'll send in Shaw and John. I got to get back to patrols." Steve said, nodding at her and then winked at Abigail before heading out.

A few minutes later, John came bouncing in, laughing when he seen Stephanie trying to lift a table by herself. "M'lady ring for some muscles?" He teased.

"Abbie, this is John and he's a shameless flirt. He's only any good BECAUSE of his muscles, ain't a damn thing between his ears."

"Harsh, homie girl."

Another John…only this one was built MORE than the previous one, shorter, but definitely more muscular. He had bright blue eyes, kind, and an army crewcut for hair. Abigail bit her bottom lip, trying not to laugh at the 'homie girl' line and failed, not remembering the last time she laughed.

"I can mop the floors for you after I do the dishes, Stephanie, if you want." Since she would be staying here for the foreseeable future, Abigail would work day and night or night and day to ensure she paid her way.

"Are you sure? You look dead on your feet, no offense…"

Honestly, Abigail had gotten plenty of rest at the castle, to last her a lifetime, and she never felt more alive now that she was free. "I'm sure. I'll go to sleep after the dishes and floors are mopped, I promise."

"She new?"

"Brand spanking."

"Go on, Steph, I'll sit with her." John said after a moment, surveying Stephanie thoughtfully. "Go on to bed, I'll be there shortly." He winked at her.

"Oh, go on!" She laughed, cheeks red and nodded. "I'll see you in the morning, Abbie, we'll work something out then."

Bradshaw walked in next and the men began moving the tables and chairs, stacking them out of the way and chatting quietly as they did so. When they were finished, Shaw went to get Abigail some hot water and lye for the floors while John retrieved the mop. Neither of them were aware that their behavior was anything atypical for her.

"Need me for anythin' else, ma'am?"

Men being ordered around by women…men calling her ma'am instead of the other way around with 'sir'. Abigail had really entered the twilight zone and shook her head at him with a soft smile. "No, John and…John." That was confusing as hell. "Okay, since both of you have the same first name, do you mind if I call one of you by your last or something different. Or maybe I can call the army guy here Johnny to separate the two of you?"

"Fine by me."

"Now hold on a minute!"

The blue-eyed John looked more like a Johnny anyway and Abigail grinned before beginning to mop the floors with the lye, dipping it in the bucket of water while the dishes soaked in the sink. The tables would have to be moved back to where they were once she finished mopping, but Abigail knew the real reason why Johnny was sticking around. He was her babysitter, to make sure she wasn't up to no good.

Just because he was a technical babysitter didn't mean anything. She was new. She was an unknown and it was just how things were. Unfortunately, the world was at war, thanks to Bray Wyatt and his Dominion of Vesperia, what an asshat. Johnny was eyeballing her, sure, but he wasn't a jerk about it. When Bradshaw finally left, he began walking after Abigail, old rags under his feet and skated along, drying the floor in her wake, so he could put the tables and chairs back. When she gave him a look, he grinned with a shrug.

"Hey, I'm tired and I bet you are too. Quicker we get this done, quicker we can hit the bricks, right? Did Stephanie show you where you'd be sleeping?" She shook her head and he nodded; Stephanie had been really tired. "You'll get either one of the bunks or a cot, just depends who took what tonight." Common houses meant shared housing. There were only a handful of tiny ass bedrooms and Stephanie had one. There were the 'checkup when check-in' room and then a larger bedroom, where sick people were usually quarantined. Everyone else got to share the open floor plan style room up, accessible via a ladder. Cots and bunk beds, pallets on the floor, it was clean, warm and better than the ground.

"Thank you for the help. Nice moves, by the way."

While he wiped up the floor, drying it with the towels, Johnny was dancing, and it was amusing to witness while she continued mopping. Granted, she wasn't planning on drying the floor at all, just letting it air-dry, but perhaps what he was doing was safer. Once she finished, Abigail wiped her forehead and set the mop aside in the bucket, after dumping the dirty water out in the other sink that wasn't soaking with the dishes. Johnny was right, she was extremely tired and dead on her feet, but Abigail needed to finish her task, which was a stack of dishes. So, this was what hard work and labor felt like…and it felt great to be able to do things for other people for a change.

This woman was incredibly slow… she had to be tired. John made himself useful, rinsing and drying for her while she washed. He then showed her where everything went and, by the time they were done, he was ready to go crawl in Stephanie's bed and cuddle. It had been a long day.

"Okay, so women's restroom and showers are over there," He pointed across the room. "Men have behind the kitchen and up here," He began climbing a ladder to the upper room. "Is where people who don't have their own housing sleep." His voice had dropped to a whisper. "Just find an empty bed and call it yours. Nobody will bother you."

Slow was due to the fact she wasn't experienced, but the more she did it, the faster and easier it became. "Thank you. Good night, Johnny." She whispered back, shaking his hand and walked over to where an empty bed lay near the window, the moon streaming into it.

This spot was perfect and reminded her of the castle as well as the foster home. Silently, she sat on the bedding, which was comfortable enough and set her bag beside her, pulling the covers up to snuggle with. Abigail was out before her head fully hit the pillow, every part of her body aching from cleaning, but she also felt liberated.

* * *

"This shit sucks… I miss the good old days when you could call a contractor to come do this shit and have your insurance pay for it."

"Shut up and get back to work, it's too hot out here for this shit."

"Agreed. Austin, shut up."

Repairing houses was not high on his list of fun, but… it had to be done. Recent storms had done some mild damage to infrastructure. Steve, Bradshaw and himself were up on the roof of one of the houses, relaying the shingles.

"So says the dickbag who is wearing long hair today." Steve snorted, moving carefully across a weak spot and then looked up into his own face. "I'm pretty sure… that's an abuse of your powers."

* * *

Abigail was up just as the sun rose over the horizon and helped Stephanie, Amy, and Trish, the drunken blonde she'd saw making out with Steve the previous night, with breakfast. The common house-made three meals daily for people that didn't have homes, herself included. Today's menu was biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Abigail wore an old apron Stephanie let her borrow and her hair was once again braided over her shoulder, after she'd had a rather cool shower. The hot water had been taken, but that was fine by her since it was a whopping 90 degrees today. Her clothes were shorts -Stephanie lent them to her-, blue jean, along with a red tank top. Stephanie had shown her how to knead the dough, making biscuits from scratch while she did the bacon and gravy since it required the grease from the bacon.

"You know, it's mostly just me and Ames running this place, and cooking for all these hungry folk, on top of cleaning and everything else." Stephanie explained, knowing Abigail would need to be trained, which was fine. "The guys come help out when we need some muscle or just another hand, but it'd be nice to have another full-timer around here. What do you think?" Before Abigail could answer, the bell over the door sounded and she looked over her shoulder. "Shit, they're going to be starving. They were up at the asscrack of dawn working on houses. Who the fuck you supposed to be today, boss?"

"Dealer's choice." He smirked, his hair hanging down to the middle of his back, jet black, a goatee and mustache combo adorning his pale face. Like Steve and John, he was in only working jeans and boots, bare from the waist up, revealing a multitude of tattoos across his upper body. His eyes today were a gray-green, less acid.

"You should've seen him and Steve, two of them, it was disgusting."

"I – um – yeah, that sounds good, Stephanie…"

Abigail couldn't believe the difference from the previous night, the change and suddenly remembered what Bray warned her about. The disguises. Was this the Undertaker's true form? His face was completely healed too, the mask gone and…Abigail had to turn away, hearing the oven go off and pulled the biscuits out. She pulled the oven mitt on, sliding them out and set them on the rack to cool for a minute or two while Trish finished with the eggs. The gravy was done, a huge pot of it, and there were at least 60 biscuits done so far. She immediately popped the next batch in, turned the timer on and took the oven mitt off before turning around, only to slam right into Mr. Disguise himself.

"Oh shit, sorry!"

"Accepted." He grunted, without looking at her, busy reaching up to pull down a stack of large plates. If she knew who he was, it was because Stephanie had called him 'boss'. "Watch it." Taker grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the stove, pushing the gravy off the still-hot burner. "It goes off when you're done."

"Oh shit, please don't get a third-degree burn… those cast-iron pots and pans will mess you up!" Stephanie yelped, wishing she had remembered to tell the new worker. "Boss, are you still planning on going outside the walls today?"

He nodded. "You have the lists?"

"Yes, everyone made one and I pooled them together and cut down to the essentials. Non-essentials are on the back, I'll go grab it."

This truly was the Undertaker. The same man with the mask and disfigured eye…the short-cropped auburn hair…it was as if it never existed. He was completely different, and Abigail could only nod at his warning along with Stephanie's. What the hell was going on here? Did he truly have magical powers that allowed him to change form? Bray had said something about a talisman. Could he use that talisman to liberate the people of the DOV and destroy it? Abigail busied herself with the biscuits, trying to clear her mind, so she didn't make a mistake and put another set of biscuits in. Stephanie ordered her to start serving the food, bringing it out to the people pouring in and made sure to give each person the exact amount. The men, Undertaker's men, were the first to be served along with the man himself. She set their plates down and tried to hide her surprise when they thanked her.

"You're welcome, enjoy." Then she hightailed it back into the kitchen to start filling her serving tray up again.

The gates and surrounding areas of Wonderful were open during the day, so long as the Undertaker was in residence. People were able to come and go freely, always through the arches, which served as weapon detectors. When he left, and this was a secret only he knew, the magical protection went with him. That was why there were soldiers patrolling the walls and the borders in shifts. Taker wasn't leaving anything to chance. The DOV had tried a few times to push through, and each time, they had been sent packing. There were too many women and children housed in Wonderful; if the DOV actually made it through… his eyes turned acid briefly.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

By the time 10 AM rolled around, everyone within the town, who came to the common house to eat, was served and fed. Abigail was finally able to sit down and eat some breakfast along with Stephanie, Trish, and Amy, the women all sharing a table. The food was delicious and the biscuits…she had done a fine job on them, after two burnt batches, which Stephanie had laughed about and shown her the proper way to make them. One thing about Abigail was she learned fast and absorbed information like a sponge.

"I just don't understand why that damn DOV insists on bothering us." Trish grunted, stabbing her biscuits and gravy like it personally did her wrong. "They have more than enough people and…from what I heard, Wyatt is building a huge army at alarming rates."

"Really?" That was worrisome, though Stephanie had to wonder how he did it. "Does anyone know how or where he's getting people from?"

"Nope, unfortunately not. I mean, a woman is pregnant for 9 months, right? They can't possibly have that many babies to make a 200 men army and counting." Steve did great pillow talk after Trish rocked his world and now she was discussing things with the girls, like always.

"Maybe he has magic on his side." Amy suggested, shrugging when Stephanie and Trish stared at her wide-eyed. "What? You don't think it's a possibility, given WHO our leader is?"

That was a good point. "What about you, newbie?" Stephanie asked, wanting Abigail to contribute to the conversation. "What do you think about the DOV?"

"They're sick bastards and deserve to burn for what they've done and what they continue to do." Abigail meant every word that came out of her mouth and hoped it happened one day.

"Amen to that." Stephanie laughed, then sighed as she took a long drink from her coffee cup. "It's a beautiful day outside… I wish Taker would use his magic to give us a hand for cleaning."

"Steve says it doesn't work like that." Trish said absentmindedly, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she used her biscuit to sop up more gravy from her plate. She frowned when she realized Stephanie and Amy were staring at her, eyes widening. "Forget I said that."

"Oh no, no… Steve knows how it works?"

"No… not really. No one does and let's change the subject."

Magic…so the theory Bray found out from Malcolm was true. "Magic?" Abigail sounded a little disbelieving, looking from one woman to the other and could tell they were uncomfortable with this subject. "That's how he changed his appearance, right? I wouldn't have recognized him if Stephanie hadn't called him 'boss' earlier. Last night, he had a mask on his face and his face was all cut up and bruised heavily. His hair was short too. So, he's the same guy, right?"

There was no point hiding the truth from Abigail, not after Trish opened her big mouth. "Yeah…you have to keep it hush-hush though because not everyone in Wonderful knows."

"Only a select few."

Amy looked pointedly at Trish, who had lowered her head and busied herself with her food. She'd just spilled Taker's secret to an outsider. And so had Stephanie, now that she thought about it, because of the whole 'helping clean with magic' line. These women were out of their minds sometimes.

"I won't say anything. I'll forget about it. Look see, forgotten already." Not likely, but Abigail had to ease their minds somehow and continued eating her food. "What time do we serve lunch?"

"One o'clock."

"What are we making for that today?"

"Sandwiches with chips. People can come in and make their own, so we'll get a small break and be able to clean up from breakfast."

Stephanie had breathed a silent sigh of relief, cursing herself mentally for opening her own big mouth around this stranger. Trish hadn't exactly helped with that either. Sometimes they just got carried away, but at the same time… they were usually by themselves, Abigail had just sort of been forgotten.

"I got to go run some errands around town, you want to come, Abigail? Got to do some 'shopping', and what clothes did you bring with you from Salny?" Amy asked, studying those white shoes with a frown. "You walked and hitched from Salny? Those heels and soles must be run clear through."

"They're actually not bad, but sure, I'll join you…if it's alright with Stephanie." Abigail didn't want to flake out on her obligations to the common house, glancing at the brunette and watched her nod. "I have a couple of shirts, pants, and shorts, socks, and undergarments…" She listed off the items that were in her bag, being completely truthful.

Abigail couldn't afford anything since Wonderful didn't accept regular currency, so she had no idea why Amy wanted to drag her along. Maybe to get to know her better or snoop, either way, Abigail didn't mind the heat radiating off her as she looked around the town. It was bustling with life, everyone looked happy – tired, but happy. She'd never seen so many smiling faces in her life and it did her heart good. Whatever Undertaker did to make his people this happy, she hoped he continued to do it for a long time to come.

"Hey Red, what you need?" Ron asked when he spotted Amy coming up his walk, cocking an eyebrow at the woman trailing behind him "Shoes?" His eyes dropped down to both women's feet, taking in Amy's old red high-tops and the scuffed white shoes on the other woman's feet.

"Well this one here walked and hitched her way here from Salny." Amy explained. "I figured that distance, on that terrain, she might need her shoes either resoled or replaced."

"What'cha paying with today, Red?"

"She's got old money coins, remember what quarters look like?"

"No shit?"

"Y-Yeah…" Abigail pulled the coins out of her pocket, not leaving them in her bag for fear of thievery and showed the dark-skinned man the paper money she also had too. "They're silver coins, actually…" She dropped one in his hand and watched him survey the coin before popping it in the air, catching it with ease.

"I haven't seen these in a dog's age!" Ron hooted with a grin, knowing how valuable a single silver coin used to be back in the day…before the DOV took over most of Vesperia. "I'll take them, help yourself to whatever you want in the shop and, if I need another one for payment, I'll let you know."

"I don't really need…"

Before she could get the sentence out, Amy yanked her inside the shop to get her a new pair of shoes. Honestly, her shoes were fine, just a bit scuffed, but still comfortable. While Abigail was trying on new shoes, Amy and Ron were studying her white pair.

"Heels are…"

"Maybe she hiked barefoot?"

"Maybe. Just weird is all."

"What's weird?"

"Bossman, what you doing here?"

"Checking your roof, Ron." Taker took the shoes they were studying, recognizing them. "What's wrong with these?"

"Not a thing." That was the problem.

He raised a slow brow. "Ron… buff them out." His eyes moved around the room, finally landing on Abigail. "Red, take her out today when we go on the errands. I want you and the new girl out there with us."

"Abbie, can you ride a crotch rocket?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"A crotch rocket, honey." Ron raised a brow when she looked completely perplexed, slowly looking up at the boss. "I don't think she knows what they are."

"You been on a motorcycle before, Abbie?" Amy asked patiently, not surprised the new girl shook her head and rubbed her temples. "She can ride bitch then with me. And Taker, the new girl has a name." It was rude of him to keep referring to her as 'the new girl' instead of using her name.

Ron smirked, knowing Amy didn't beat around the bush or put up with anyone's crap in Wonderful, not even Taker.

"I know what a motorcycle is, Amy. Is that the same thing as a crotch rocket? Or are they different?"

"Don't worry about it, you'll just ride with me."

"Okay, where are we going?"

"Out. Don't worry, you'll enjoy it. Now, did you pick out a new pair of shoes?"

"Yeah." She held a pair of plain black tennis shoes that looked comfortable and held them out. "You can go ahead and throw the white ones out or keep them and resell them, if you want. I don't like white…" Never again would Abigail wear the color, already planning on making her wardrobe as colorful as possible.

"Umm…okay? Sure, thanks…"

Ron wasn't throwing them away; they were in pretty good condition and he didn't like having to re-sole or repair shoes when there were perfectly good ones laying around.

"Your name is Abigail."

"Don't mind him, he's weird." Amy rolled her eyes, then scowled when an overly large hand came down on her head, messing her hair up.

"Your name is New Girl, until otherwise."

"Now you're just doing it to irritate me." Amy watched as he walked out with Ron, shaking her head. "He pulled me outta a bad spot years ago, so… he's not so bad, not really, just… weird. And stern, sometimes. Sometimes I think he changes his mood as often as he changes his looks."

The way he said her name sent a shiver down her spine, though Abigail didn't show it. She knew better. His deep, burly, somewhat dark voice was sexy, and she could listen to him talk all day and night. There was no way that man wasn't taken already. If he wasn't, he either liked men only or wanted to be alone.

"Why does he do that anyway?" She asked curiously, slipping the black tennis shoes on over her white socks. The only white thing she'd keep. "I mean, I guess it's genius to switch up your appearance, so your enemies don't know exactly what you look like, but…it's still weird. You're right, he is weird."

"Come on, let's run those errands for Stephanie before we have to go out this afternoon on the run." Amy made sure they were squared up with Ron before walking out, a basket on her arm to hold items she had to deliver and pick up. "Now… one of the reasons he changes his looks every day is because… well, when he goes out, nobody ever really knows who he is. I mean, here in Wonderful, he usually sticks to something familiar, but out there… he looks like anyone else. Keeps the DOV from realizing he's in charge, because if they know, they'll take him out. What's the Resistance without its leader?" That's what they were known as to others outside of Wonderful's walls – Undertaker's Resistance. She stopped at a stall, handing over a bottle of pills to an older woman before continuing on. "And the other… is well… this is what I heard, I mean, it's from a good source, but still… rumor. He had a brother, a younger brother. His brother died in those early years, after the Dominion happened. They set fire to the house Taker and his brother was in. Taker was…. burnt, pretty badly. So, I think that's why he changes up his appearance all the time, hiding those scars."

He was eavesdropping. Sort of. Taker was also holding a conversation with a few children, who were on their way to school. Boys and girls; children were precious here, not a resource or a means to an end like the DOV. Amy was mostly right. There was more to the story then what she knew… about his younger brother, who had died, and thinking about Glen made a valuable part of him throb in response, a hand nearly convulsing as he fought the urge to feel the spot. It had been Glen who'd had magic, something rare, something scientists back when had tried to study, but all that had been lost in the war. Glen had saved him, the younger brother had given his life, his magical essence, to ensure he would survive. Now, he carried not only scars from that day, but… a little something extra. Taker was carrying a piece of Glen with him, or… his lips twitched slightly at his own musings, within him.

Destruction was all Bray had caused all of these people, even the leader of Wonderful. Everywhere he went, he caused chaos and shed so much innocent blood. It had to stop before the world of Vesperia was lost forever. Abigail didn't know what to say to Amy's explanation regarding Undertaker changing his appearance. Were the scars really that bad? Her heart went out to him and his entire family, hating the man she used to love, the man she had followed for a decade, who had caused so much agony.

"That's awful. Nobody deserves that kind of pain. Nobody deserves to be…tortured and ripped from their homes and forced to endure what the DOV is doing! To lose loved ones and homes and memories and…Innocent people are dying and being killed on a daily basis, all for the sake of a goddamn religion one man created!" Abigail blinked, tears sliding down her cheeks and wiped them away angrily, gritting her teeth against her own pain she'd suffered at the hands of the DOV. It wasn't physical so much as mental and emotional.

"Abbie…"

"Sorry…just talking about the DOV boils my blood and it makes me so angry that innocent people are being slaughtered all for the sake of religion. Why can't we just…believe in what we want and live our lives the way we want? Why does it have to be this way?"

"I-I don't know…"

That was honestly the million-dollar question. Why did the DOV feel the need to invade towns and villages, pillage them and take their women to treat them like cattle? They were nothing except breeders.

"My family…they were killed by the DOV." She spoke quietly while they continued walking and talking, after Abbie's slight outburst. Nobody blamed her, everyone here hated the DOV with a passion and wanted them gone, wiped out, forever. It was easier said than done though. "My parents…my brother…everyone I loved and cared about was wiped out because they refused to bow down to the DOV. They refused to join them. My Mom had sent me away during the scourge and I barely made it out alive. Taker is the one who found me in the woods near Wonderful and saved my life. I owe him for that. We all do because we've all been saved by that wonderful man. That's why the community here dubbed this town as Wonderful because it truly is the best place to be right now, especially in these times."

"Amy…" Abigail wrapped her arms around the woman, hugging her close and vowed once again, silently, to make the DOV pay for every single person they hurt and destroyed. "I'm so sorry…"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Jesus Christ you two, what the hell took you so damn long?" Stephanie demanded when Amy and Abigail finally made it back. "We got to get lunch on before the run this afternoon, and Cena was sent out to help work the fields."

The man was insanely strong, and Bradshaw thought it was hilarious to 'yoke him like cattle' and see if John's dumb ass could drag a plow. And he could. Scary strong. Lunch was sandwiches and chips; people would make their own plates, but putting out that amount of food was a pain in itself.

"Abbie's going on the run with me."

"Oh for fuck's sake!"

"Don't mind her, she's normally not so… colorful. She's pregnant, just out of the 12-week phase, so… hormones, I guess."

"Stephanie," A grinning kid with bright green and purple hair had come running in. "Hey, so, I got the prenatals."

"Thank the stars… thanks Jeff."

Stephanie really hoped Taker was able to hit the old town on the other side of the river. They had been scoping it for months, but the DOV had always been in the way. There was a pharmacy there or had been. From her understanding, the DOV didn't believe in medicine.

"Let's get the rest of the food on the table and get some lunch too. You can get a nap after if you need too since I know you're not used to this."

"Oh wow, really?!" Abigail grinned at Stephanie, noticing the slight glow she had going on now that Amy spilled the beans. "Congratulations!" Going out with Amy and Undertaker was a test, otherwise, Abigail would've remained here to help Stephanie. "I promise, I'll help out as much as I can with dinner, if we return in time." She had no idea how long they'd be gone for.

"Don't count on it, not with Taker in charge." Amy stage-whispered with a grin, patting Abigail on the back and went to grab some sandwiches and chips for the road.

"Umm what exactly are we doing again?" Abigail was going on some trip with Amy, but didn't know the details and wanted to be prepared. "Should I change?"

"Put pants on." Amy didn't want her legs to get burned on her crotch rocket. "And put a bandana on too." She tossed one to Abigail, smirking when she merely looked at it questioningly. "Wrap it around your head to prevent the sun from frying you up. We'll be gone a while and we're going to the neighboring towns to scavenge and pick up supplies. We might run into the DOV, do you know how to use a gun?"

"N-No I don't…" That made her nervous, so Amy handed her a dagger instead, which was inside a holster.

"For protection. Now go get ready, make sure to strap that around your thigh, and then meet me out front in 10 minutes. Don't be late."

* * *

"You sure you want to take the new woman?"

"There's something off with her."

"We all got our secrets, now don't we?"

Steve gave his old friend a pointed look, watching as Taker stepped out from behind the curtains that usually blocked his bedroom, trying not to flinch at the sight of the real face. He was the only person who knew what this man really looked like because he was the poor son of a bitch who pulled Taker's burning backside out of that fire. Steve had been passing through, thinking he could outrun what was happening. He had heard screams, a house had been on fire, and now… now he was the right-hand of the Undertaker. Snorting, he picked up the mask and put it on, hissing slightly. The bone was on the mend, thankfully. Taker didn't think it would be necessary to wear this thing much longer and, a second later, his face was… normal.

"Shit, you look like the male version of Red." Steve nodded his approval; Taker had even made himself appear shorter, more in line with normal-sized men. "Amy is taken with Abigail."

"She sees suffering." And Amy knew suffering. "Let's go."

Until Abigail knew, without a shadow of a doubt, she could trust the Undertaker, she would continue lying. It was the only way to survive in this world nowadays and, what these people didn't know, wouldn't hurt them. She wasn't here to hurt them anyway, only for help with the DOV to liberate the innocent and stop the madness. Hopefully, when the truth came out, everyone would understand. Sliding the dagger out of the holster, Abigail ran her fingertips over the blackish-blue metal and swallowed hard as it glinted in the sunlight. She slipped it back into the holster, strapped it to her jean covered thigh and headed out, meeting Amy exactly 10 minutes later.

"All right everyone," Steve announced, when they were all outside the gates, motorcycles and crotch rockets as the smaller, yet faster and usually easier to handle cycles were called, lined up and ready to go. "You all got your weapons?" At the nods, he nodded too. "Saddlebags are empty, everyone has a flask and a satchel waiting on their bike. Water and dried rations in case we're out late. We're going to try crossing the old bridge again, about 2 hours out."

"The boss coming?"

"Doesn't matter. I'm yer boss. Get ready, we're leavin'."

When Amy glanced at him and then did a double-take, Taker winked.

Abigail had to wonder if Taker wasn't joining them on this journey today, after all, figuring he probably had other pressing matters to attend to. She sat against Amy on the crotch rocket and blinked when the woman told her to hold on as she took off with everyone else. The wind whipped over her and Abigail was never more thankful to have her long black tresses pulled back in a braid, understanding the need for the bandana now. She couldn't wipe the smile from her face, the scenery bypassing her in the blink of an eye and glanced over at the long red-haired man, wondering who he was. She didn't recognize him at all. Everyone else she had met, except him. Interesting.

Technically, she had only met these people because she hadn't had a day off yet. There was a lot more in Wonderful, but he wasn't about to ask mothers of young ones, kids, or old people to come out. Usually, only those Taker trusted and who could handle themselves were brought out because this got dangerous. In his absence, Wonderful's wall and border security had been tightened, knowing he had to trust his men to take care of the town. Those were the worst moments, the worst thoughts, wondering 'what if', whenever he ventured out.

As long as he was within the walls, nothing he didn't want there could get in. When he was gone, a whole new ballgame, not that anybody but a few knew that. They had come this way many times over the last year and, every time, the DOV had been in the territory. Taker was hoping today would be different because they needed that pharmacy. Canned goods would be nice too. Just items they could use and, if there was still room left in the bags and backpacks, things people had brought to carry what they could, then they'd move onto the other side, Stephanie's 'wish list' from the people.

Two and half hours later, they arrived at the town of Chestine and it seemed as though it was completely abandoned. Everyone halted their bikes at the entrance and had their weapons drawn, including Abigail. She had zero fighting abilities, so all she could hope for was having a lucky shot if they were attacked. Or someone to protect her. Following Amy, Steve, the red-haired guy, along with the others inside, their first priority was scanning the area to make sure no enemies, the DOV, and animals were around.

Animals had become more ferocious ever since the DOV had come to power, Abigail learned, which was just another reason she hated them added to the long list. When Steve ordered her and Amy to ransack the pharmacy, they went off carefully while the men started looking for food, canned goods, anything that was viable to bring back to cook and eat. There was also an abandoned gas station with actual gas, so they would fill up their bikes that way before leaving.

"Something's on your mind, Abbie." Amy pointed out the obvious. "What is it?"

Abigail sighed, hating how easily Amy could read her sometimes. "I was just curious who the redhaired man is since I haven't met him yet. Not a big deal, are these the prenatal vitamins Stephanie wants?" She waved a bottle at Amy, grinning when the redhead nodded and began stuffing them into the satchels.

"Grab all you can." Amy eyeballed the old gate that had been pulled down to block the pharmacy counter, looking around for the door. "We've been trying to get into his place for months; this is the first time we've been able too. And those saddlebags would hold a lot, on top of the backpacks everyone had."

She finally found the door and began kicking at it. A long time had passed, it hadn't been maintained, and it soon enough gave. All this medicine was outdated by at least a decade, but it would still -mostly- work. A lot of medicines got more potent as they sat, so they'd have to let the local doctor cut some things up for proper doses.

"Antibiotics… more pills… INSULIN." They had a few diabetics; this stuff was liquid gold for those people. "Abbie, grab all the medicines you can off the OTC shelves, we'll take all of this first and then come back for bandages and stuff." The redheaded man was such an ass.

Nodding, Abigail began filling her knapsack and backpack with all different kinds of medicines, not paying attention to the labels. She just swiped them all in the bag with her arm, going as fast as she possibly could. While she did as Amy instructed, Abigail suddenly had an idea and looked over at the redhead, wondering if she would be up for it.

"Hey Amy?"

"Hmm?"

"Since you guys have to use weapons and whatnot…I don't have any experience with fighting and…I was wondering if you'd help me with that. Maybe…teach me how to fight with my dagger? Just in case I need to defend myself if I'm gonna be venturing out like this in the future." Abigail felt stupid for asking, but the last thing she wanted was to have her head knocked or sliced off by one of the DOV. She didn't know if Bray had informed everyone in the castle and the DOV about her mission. "If you don't want to do it, I'll understand…"

"Who is learning how to use a gun?"

"Wear bells! What are you doing here?"

"Steve said we're to empty this place out, medicine and wound dressings are becoming a bit too scarce." The redheaded man held up a few bags, grinning broadly as Amy took in his hair, same exact shade as hers. "Also, feminine hygiene products." Because, as Stephanie had informed him, 'that shit ain't wish list, it's a necessity unless you want us to eat you alive'. He was good and would listen to one of his most trusted.

"Abbie, this is Chet. Chet, this is Abbie, she's new." Amy could play along, knowing well Taker didn't go out in what was considered one of his 'normal' forms. "Chet, mind raiding the tampons, pads, and Midol for us?"

He shook his head, not minding at all. "Amy… we need to see what's left in the baby aisles."

They were screwed on baby formula; that stuff had gone bad a long, long time ago. Milk was also something rare, though they sometimes found the powdered substance, stored in tubs, which meant it was alright to use. They were trying to raise cows, pregnant women, and babies needed milk. He wanted to kill Bray Wyatt, his face turning red at all the needless pain and hardship these people were suffering because that man had issues.

"Hi." Abigail looked at him for a second before taking a bag he handed her and began filling them up with the rest of the medicine in the cabinets. "I've got the baby aisle." Being around women that were breeders, she knew exactly what to search for and took off, not realizing 'Chet' was following her. "Diapers, need diapers. Baby powder – oh, I wonder if they've got cornstarch here…"

That was a necessity for babies because of rashes and sometimes, baby powder didn't cut the mustard. She knew that after helping a few of the women with their babies before Bray, once again, intervened and kept her away from the 'breeders'. Sickening. Now her face was turning red as she swiped as many packs of diapers in the bag as she could. It was a huge trash bag, far bigger than regular ones and…she hoped they could strap it somewhere on the bike to bring back to Wonderful.

"Did you need something, Chet?" She asked, finally spotting him and raised a brow when he merely stared at her, wondering what kind of issues he had. "I think we're pretty much cleared out for the baby stuff…"

"Two things," 'Chet' held up two stubby fingers, staring at her. "First, take the diapers out of their packaging, we can fit more that way." He watched as Abigail began dumping the diapers, crouching down to help her open them and replace them back into the bag. "Second," He smiled impishly. "Grab all the baby toys you can and smuggle them in. Not a necessity, but…" Happy, content babies meant less stressed mothers. "Teething rings, especially. I'll go finish up in the hygiene products, and then hit the food aisle." Most old places like this had kept an aisle or two for groceries. "When you're done, come help me and I'll show you what's safe to take."

Slick bastard, Amy thought, knowing the boss could teach Abigail and get to know her, see how she did, gauge her this way. "Chet, Midol!"

Abigail giggled at Amy's insistence for him to grab the Midol, shaking her head. "She's quite a character, isn't she?"

At his nod, she smiled at him and then grabbed the baby boys, teething rings, anything that would make a baby content and happy, as he ordered. Something felt…oddly familiar about Chet, but Abigail couldn't put her finger on what it was. Pushing those thoughts out of her head, she continued with her task while Amy finished up with the medicine aisle. Once she'd cleared the shelves of all that out, stuffing them in the bag with the diapers, Abigail made her way to where Chet was in the food aisle and approached him, seeing all the canned goods on the shelf.

"I really hope there's enough for all the babies in Wonderful, I grabbed everything I possibly could."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"You can bet your ass Amy grabbed all the condoms and birth control she can find." While precious and welcomed, there were those who didn't want babies and… even without protection, were still dumb enough to have sex. He didn't want to dictate personal lives, not really, but if they had a baby boom, they were going to be in trouble. "So… anything in a box is probably no good." 'Chet' tapped a very old box of pancake mix, the box itself was faded. "Anything in a tin… as long as it's not bulging anywhere or rusted, is fine." He watched as she immediately started checking out the cornstarch, frowning. "What are you doing, Abbie?" He asked curiously.

"Cornstarch is excellent for rashes on babies. I'm hoping we can bring some back because baby powder, a lot of times, doesn't work as well." Abigail explained, picking up the box and checked to make sure it hadn't been tampered with or anything. "It's an old home remedy and it'll work, so as long as you think the stuff will be okay, we should take some for emergencies." Handing him a box, she waited to see if he approved and, once again, that odd familiar feeling washed over her. "So, even canned goods can go bad if the can is bulged out or rusted?"

Since they usually had to rely on environmentally friendly, washcloth diapers, diaper rash wasn't a thing. But… this was handy, and he bet like hell it would also work on the adults who would break out in heat rashes during the summer. Even an old dog could learn new tricks.

"Yes, canned food usually has an indefinite shelf life." He explained, beginning to drop said canned goods into his open, reinforced bag. No trash bags for this shit.

"Hey Chet, don't forget to find the lollies, you know how Taker is about those." Amy called, having finished with the pharmacy and was lugging all their loot to the doors to be collected. She winked at Abigail. "Big boss likes to pass them out to the kids as a treat."

Big boss was going to wring his pretty friend's neck.

"Lollipops, you mean? That's sweet…weird, but sweet."

Abigail didn't think lollipops were necessities, but whatever the boss wanted, he got. She began putting all the cornstarch in his bag, after asking permission, along with the canned goods and other supplies he wanted to grab. He handed her another reinforced bag to continue putting canned goods in and when she tried lifting it, there was no way to do it.

"Wow, this is really heavy…" She grunted, blinking when he picked it up with ease and smiled sheepishly at him. "Thanks. Is there anything else we should grab or anything else you want to show me to look out for?"

"We'll have to see what else has been grabbed."

Others were ransacking old public buildings currently, so this was too good an opportunity to pass up. Taker wished they had come earlier in the day; they'd have been able to make a few trips. As it was, he would go talk to Steve since they had a few good hours left. They could pick a place, pile the extras there in bags, and try to come back for it tomorrow or the day after. Clothing was something they were going to need, bedding and pillows, what might have survived… Taker groaned, rubbing his temples.

He gestured Abigail to go on with Amy, turning and headed for the 'children' section, eyeballing the school supplies. Unlike Wyatt, he believed in educating these kids, boys and girls, at least the basics. Reading and math, history didn't seem to matter so much anymore… sighing again, his mind wandered to the new woman. She had said the lollies were weird… why? Why was it weird?

They were only supposed to grab the necessities, things people needed to survive, but in the process, that had been tossed out the window. And yes, it was weird for that giant to hand out lollipops to children. She couldn't picture it in her head and figured Amy was yanking her chain or something. Undertaker was…not who she thought, that was for sure. He was the complete opposite of Bray in every way, which was a good thing. She remembered when Bray would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need, herself included, but now…now he had warped into a monster…and there was no fixing him.

Abigail knew he had to be destroyed, by any means necessary. Following Amy out of the first store, they went into the second one to start gathering up pillows, blankets and stuffing them in bags. How the hell were they supposed to bring all of this stuff back without a trailer of some kind? Abigail decided that wasn't her problem and they'd been doing this a long time, so they knew what they were doing obviously.

"All right, you jackasses, unload your shit." Steve ordered once everyone had brought their 'loot' outside by the bikes.

He watched as those with proper motorcycle began opening their saddlebags – many of the bikes were equipped with luggage racks on the backend and, repaired many times yet still serviceable, empty luggage cases – already strapped on. Cans were loaded by size and weight first across the saddlebags. Diapers and feminine products were stashed in the luggage compartments attached to the backend of every bike except Amy's, only because she had a passenger. Everyone had brought old school backpacks, and most could manage two at a time: medicines, tools, and things of that sort were divided into them, based on who could carry what. Within a decent time, everyone was ready to go, and Steve grinned. They had this routine down. During those early years, they had really screwed up via trial and error, but now… now was different.

"Fuckin' lollipops…" Amy pointed at 'Chet', shaking her head when he stuffed a bag of the sweets into his jacket, betting anything that bastard had some really big pockets.

"Hey, if it makes kids happy, I'd rather them be happy than miserable and whiny."

Amy concurred to that and they laughed, finishing up strapping their belongings and goods to the bike. Abigail had a feeling Amy didn't have nearly as much on hers as she should've due to her, guilt consuming her. Oh well, what was done was done. It was weird, and interesting, how the DOV hadn't attacked them at all. This was technically their territory, but they had stayed back and allowed Taker's team to do what needed to be done. As Abigail looked around, she could tell everyone was waiting for an ambush attack, herself included, but…nobody came. Nobody showed up, not even one soldier.

"Where's the DOV, Austin? They gotta know we're here by now…"

"I know…" Steve shared a look with 'Chet', seeing the confusion written all over the man's face. "Maybe it's a miracle…" He snorted, not buying that for a second, and glanced over at Abigail and Amy before straddling his bike.

That was worrisome. For a year now, they had been trying to make it here, and the fact that they had so easily, didn't sit well with him. His eyes raked over his crew again, finally resting on Amy and Abigail before glancing back at Steve. Wonderful was relying on only the men patrolling right now… his teeth gnashed.

"Top off your tanks people, we're leaving!" Steve read Taker's mind, knowing if the DOV wasn't attacking them here, they could be trying to breach the town again. And Taker wasn't there to keep them from actually doing it this time.

Bray, don't do anything reckless, Abigail thought, having a feeling she knew why they were rushing back to Wonderful. The ride back was full of tension. From head to toe, she could feel Amy's body rigid and not relaxed like it was on the way here. By the time they arrived at the gates of Wonderful, all was…quiet and peaceful. Abigail hopped off the bike with Amy while Steve looked positively flabbergasted.

"What the fuck is goin' on here? Why didn't they attack us like all the other times?"

"Maybe your miracle theory is right, baldy."

No, something wasn't right, and Steve could feel it, shaking his head. He knew Taker could feel it too. Where was the damn DOV? Why had they suddenly tucked tail and stayed away? Abigail helped carry the supplies inside with Amy, their eyes peeled for any sudden movements and…nothing. Absolutely nothing happened or was out of the ordinary. She overheard 'Chet' talking to Bradshaw to ask about the patrolling and he'd said the same thing they were all thinking. Something wasn't right.

After checking in with the corner towers and watches, Taker was feeling left… unsettled. Nothing and nobody had been sighted since they had left, hours ago. He had shifted to one of his 'normal' forms: heavily tattooed, long jet-black hair and a black beard, his green eyes acidic as they narrowed in thought. Wyatt was constantly pressing them, trying to get to the hundreds of people under his protection. Frowning, he moved to stare over the short, stone wall to stare down into his town.

It had housed thousands back in the day, and now they only used the main square and blocks outside of that. A lot of buildings had been destroyed in the war and, what they couldn't save, they had scavenged. The walls had been built over the years until they were what they were now, and land had been cleared for growing their own food and raising what animals they could. All that technology was becoming useless as the years went by; they were unable to maintain factories that put out power and he had yet to meet an engineer since the great Revolution.

"Something is wrong…" He hissed, his eyes landing on Abigail and Amy, who were among others unloading the supplies and he could see people milling about, waiting to collect a share of the goods. Taker couldn't afford to relax, not when something was afoot.

"Oh thank goodness, you two are back! We could really use the help here to serve dinner! Abbie, here." Stephanie shoved the tray, the same tray she had last night, and pointed to the tower out of the window. "Go deliver the boss his food and then come right back, okay? Please?" Being pregnant made her a tad pushy, but she was exhausted and dead on her feet due to all the energy the little beast inside of her sucked out of her.

"O-Okay, I won't take long!"

Abigail could tell Stephanie was ready to drop and would be in for another long night of cooking and cleaning, rushing over to the tower as fast as she could without tipping the tray any. Swallowing hard, she was tempted to just leave the tray outside the door and had to force herself to move forward, to actually knock the same way Steve had. Only, it was just her this time around as her midnight blue eyes looked up at the giant once the door opened. Once again, he was blanketed in darkness and she could only see his eyes.

"Good evening, Undertaker. Stephanie sent this for you."

He stepped back, flipping on a low-level light and gestured at the desk where he took his meals, turning away from her. "Why did they send you?" Taker asked, wondering what Stephanie's damage was to send the new girl up after a long day. He looked back, noting she was rubbing her arms, betting that heavy tray and long walk wasn't doing her any favors. She needed to build some upper body strength. "Amy sent word you want to learn how to use a gun."

"Stephanie is running on fumes and I don't mind." Abigail set the tray down on the table, like she did the previous night, only they hadn't gone upstairs. "And yes I do. I need to protect myself from the DOV and anyone else who tries to hurt me or people I care about. I'll be honest, I have no fighting experience at all, but I'm a fast runner and learner. I'm sure shooting a gun won't be that difficult." As long as it wasn't a machine gun, which was some of the weaponry the patrolmen used. "I asked Amy for help, and I'm sorry if that was out of line, sir…I mean Undertaker." Damn it, she slipped up and lowered her eyes from him.

He eyed her doubtfully, wondering if she'd be able to handle the kickback, the recoil, from a gun, even a compact, semi-light Beretta. Taker didn't know what the hell she was apologizing for and moved so he was in her space, grabbing her wrists and pulling her arms up, watching her face intently. "You need to get some arm strength, woman." He advised flatly, letting go and blinked when her arms came down like dead weight, rubbing the tip of his rather blunt nose, both amused and irritated. "Bullets are pretty precious around here," Sort of, Mythril bullets were damn handy, but… he preferred using Mythril for things that weren't going to be lost in a body or just lost in general. Daggers and swords, awesome. Bullets… could wind up somewhere besides the target and then they had to hunt that stuff down to melt and recast it. "BB gun pellets…" She could learn using those.

"Whatever you think is best. Amy gave me this dagger, but I don't know if I'll be any good with it…" She gestured to the holster around her thigh and shrugged at his raised brow. "I guess she didn't want me going with her and the others unarmed…" Abigail stepped back tentatively, putting some space between them. This was day 2, it would take far more than that to convince herself he was trustworthy. "Oh…this guy named Chet came with us today and…he said you wanted lollipops for the children. Amy took them to the common house if you want to go grab them when you're done eating. I'd better get back and help out, unless…you needed something else from me?"

"Are you…" He raised a slow black eyebrow, having noticed how she put distance between them and didn't care. She was probably not used to strange men just raising her arms like that. "Tattling on Chet?" That was what it sounded like. She could have easily said 'we got your lollies' and called it a day. Taker couldn't keep the amusement from his tone as he studied her. "And give me that dagger." He held out a hand for it, wondering what the hell Amy was thinking passing out a Mythril dagger to someone he hadn't given his seal of approval on. "I'll find you something more suitable." He promised, turning to set it down.

Judging by the way he took that dagger from her, Abigail surmised it WAS made of Mythril. So that was Mythril, a bluish-black stone forged into weaponry. Bray couldn't get his hands on it; she could feel the immense power generating from the dagger while having it on her person throughout the day.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"You should give Chet a raise…or however you guys praise each other around here. He was very helpful today and taught me quite a bit. And I'm not tattling on him, I just figured you'd want to know where they were at."

"Mmmhmm…"

He dropped down behind his desk, eyeing the tray. Taker really hoped Stephanie took a damn breather. The woman had been kept on light detail during her first 12 weeks, due to the chance of miscarriage, now she was busting her backside like she had to play catch up or something.

"Sit down, Abigail." He gestured to the chair opposite him, watching as she studied the dagger, noting the thoughtful expression on her face. "What is it?"

"I really should get BACK…" With a wave of his hand, he planted her in the chair and Abigail felt as if she couldn't move for a few seconds, blinking. Her voice had risen against her will because of the shock of magic being used on her with that last word. "What the hell was that?!" She exclaimed once she could move her limbs again and saw the devious smirk on Undertaker's face, her own turning crimson. "Right, the magic thing. Stephanie and the girls told me about it, somewhat." That was extremely powerful; it felt like she'd been immobilized without the pain. "I've never seen a dagger like that before and was curious what it's made out of. The material is bluish-black, it's…interesting and beautiful." The moment she had touched the dagger, Abigail had felt a surge of energy course through her.

He wouldn't be doing that again, though usually a show of magical force once was enough. It drained the hell out of him. When in Wonderful, Taker was consciously exerting energy on his appearance, as well as maintaining the protective boundaries. Expending extra just to put her backside in a chair… he was sometimes a dip.

"A metal that is specially forged." He answered simply, flashing her a smile and then handed over a bowl of what looked like… soup. "Eat. Tell me what you learned today."

He wanted her to eat with him? Did he do this with all of the newcomers? Something told Abigail no. So, what made her the exception? The soup did smell delicious and her stomach rumbled, not eating since…this morning, actually. There was no time to stop and eat when they were outside of the gates in potentially mortal danger.

"Well, the cans for one. If they're bulged out or rusted, don't touch them. Diapers need to be ripped open, the packaging, because you fit more in a bag than if they are packaged. Medicine, although outdated, can still be used, though the doses need to be calculated beforehand." Amy had told her that one while they put the medicine in the backpacks and knapsacks. "Chet told me to grab teething rings and toys for the babies because it helps them not be cranky. Good call, by the way, on that one. Oh, this is something Chet didn't know, I don't think anyway. I told him about how you can use cornstarch for diaper rash. It works a lot better, generally than baby powder, so I grabbed all the boxes of that for the babies. Umm…" While she spoke, she took a couple of sips of soup and paused in between telling him all that she'd learned. "Oh, I also learned that if you roll clothing, including blankets, it saves room and you can fit more into a bag." That was a trick from Amy. She learned a lot from the redhead, but Chet was a major help too. "I think that's it…" Without realizing it, she finished half the soup and felt marginally better.

"Cornstarch, huh? Would it help with general rashes? Like heat?" When she nodded, he did too, taking a bite of the potato Stephanie had sent up, with plenty of pepper and not much else, which was the way he liked it. "Good. In the summer, it's blazing hot…" Summer was nice though, it meant they could run less electric. They had been toying with solar energy, something that had been making a big splash before the war, something renewable. "You book smart, Abigail?"

"Yeah, I love to read. I'm a book nerd. Before I left home, I had a whole bookshelf full of them and my Mom said I was crazy." Abigail chuckled, the lie flying out of her mouth, though it was only partial. Bray had been the one to call her crazy with all the books she read instead of her Mom, who she didn't know. "Any type of rash you have, cornstarch is the answer, but you'll have to try it out and see for yourself. It's not for everyone." Her eyes lit up at the possibility that just struck her. "Undertaker, is there a…library or some kind in Wonderful? Or maybe a bookshop?"

"Don't I wish…" He sighed wistfully, propping his elbow on the desk, chin in palm, looking reflective. "Before this war started, this DOV, when I was a boy, I lived a few blocks from a city library and it was huge." His eyes softened for a moment. "So many books…" But… that was the past and he cleared his throat, returning to his meal. "What books we did have… sadly, have been used in the absence of toilet paper, or for rolling cigarettes for those that smoke, as firestarter… you get the picture." He caught the disappointed look on her face and felt a bit… saddened too.

"I'm sorry…" Abigail whispered, not meaning to bring up a sore subject and felt her heartbreak into pieces over the fact they had no books here.

The apology was on behalf of the DOV for being so heartless and forcing people to the extremes they'd gone. To actually destroy precious books with information that should've lasted centuries…it was all gone. She understood they had to be used for other things, like wiping people's backsides and a firestarter, but the fact of the matter was, books were precious. There was a whole slew of them at the DOV castle, and she vowed to get every single one of them once the DOV was taken down to bring back to Wonderful.

"I have a few books in my bag that I brought with me. I've read them countless times, but if you need them for…kindle and whatnot, I'll give them up." Hiding those from him was pointless.

Green eyes widened, and he lowered his fork, staring at her. "No. You keep them. As long as you make it clear they're yours, no one will touch them and besides," He hid a smirk, taking a drink of his water. "Plenty of leaves, Abigail, people will make do." He was curious about what sort of books she read; if they were novels or textbooks… she had been traveling fairly light, maybe paperback. Standing, he put their bowls back on the chair, gesturing her up. "Now, show me where these lollipops are… there's to be a bonfire tonight, celebrating our good fortune on the run. The kids expect a few presents…"

"A bonfire, really?" Abigail wondered if she would be able to finish her chores in time to attend and stood up from the chair, doing it slowly just in case his magic hadn't worn off yet. "You didn't have to give me your soup, you know…" He pressed a finger to her lips and she merely smiled at him, understanding what he'd done. If he was eating, he wouldn't do it in front of her without her having something as well. "Thanks for making me eat and…rest for a few. Come on, I'll show you where the lollipops are, so you can spoil the kiddies." She really wished she had a camera, this was too good to be true.

When Abigail returned, with the Undertaker in tow, Stephanie smiled at the sight of the giant. He was wearing her favorite 'appearance', the black beard, long black hair… it was gorgeous. If she wasn't happy with her Johnny… well no, actually, Taker hadn't had a woman in years, not that she was keeping track of who may have slipped into his bed a time or two because a man did have his needs. His last steady woman had been murdered and he had sworn off relationships then, which was understandable. Being in charge, opening up, and then losing someone, but still having to go on because of all that weight on his shoulders, would suck. They had already cleared the evening meal and the rest of the work, so she was happy. "Bradshaw, Ron, Johnny and the rest came in. Jeff's finishing up the dishes, and Matt's been helping Chris haul wood." She said by way of explanation when Abigail looked surprised. Everything was done. The floors were mopped, the dishes were finished and the place looked spic and span!

"I'm so sorry, Stephanie. I know I promised to come right back, but…" The last thing Abigail wanted to do was tattle on the Undertaker, of all people, and swallowed hard. "I – um – got held up…"

She glanced up at the boss and then went behind the bar, where she knew Amy kept the lollipops and grabbed the huge bag of them. There had to be at least a couple months' worth in that damn bag! It was somewhat heavy, but she managed to bring it over to him.

"As requested, Amy outdid herself." Then her eyes looked toward Stephanie, feeling terribly guilty for not helping out. "I will work twice as hard tomorrow, I promise."

Stephanie was staring at Abigail like she had lost her mind. "Honey, on nights like these, the boys usually come in and help out, so we can all go celebrate." She said gently, waving a dismissive hand. "Don't feel bad, I should have reminded you. Why don't you go freshen up? In a little bit, we'll have that bonfire and then Santa Claus over there will be handing out things that we brought back." Because it had to be rationed.

"Santa Claus…" Abigail snickered, covering her mouth with her hand when he shot her a glare and hightailed it out of the eating area to the ladder that lead to her bed.

"Hey, maybe he can use his powers to change into Jolly Ol' Saint Nick like he did last year. Do you remember that?"

"Oh my god, yes! The kids were ecstatic and had no idea!"

Stephanie beamed brightly, placing a hand on her protruding stomach. The leader, along with his men, had gone to a toy store that was 3 hours from Wonderful in a town called Selmi. They raided the toys, bringing them all back and one of the storage houses in Wonderful now had toys upon toys for the kids during the holidays.

"He's such a softie…"

Amy snorted with a snicker of her own. "What was your first clue? The lollipops, the toys, or letting them beat him up whenever the mothers are at their wits ends?"

"All of the above." The women laughed.

"Hell, he actually ATE with the new girl too. That NEVER happens."

"Yeah…that is fishy." Stephanie eyeballed Taker, folding her arms in front of her chest and watched him walk out, wondering what was going through his mind.

"Well, no, I guess not…" Amy shrugged, not really caring one way or another. "We don't get many women coming in… mostly men." They shared a meaningful look, both knowing why many women didn't make it. They were caught by the DOV for breeding purposes or killed if they were physically disabled, or old. "He does it with the men who come in; it's how he starts feeling them out. I guess it just seems weird because… she's a vagina."

"How'd she do today?"

"Not too bad actually."

Cleaning up consisted of changing her jeans into shorts because it was in the middle of summer, leaving her tank top on and washing her face. The women didn't wear makeup because it wasn't a necessity, so they're natural beauty was all the men received. Bray didn't allow her to wear makeup either, so Abigail was used to it. The celebration commenced with Abigail sitting near the back, watching the children dance around Undertaker, all of them squealing at the lollipops he had. The babies were content with their teething rings, the ones that were teething anyway, while some of the others had rattles and whatnot.

There was so much life here, so much happiness and peace. These people had suffered, but nothing compared to what they could've at the hands of the DOV. The men toasted each other with beer while holding onto their women. Most of them were taken, though Abigail noticed Taker wasn't one of them. Taker was really good with the kids, picking a couple of them up, girls, so they could kiss his cheek and thank him for the candy. Now she understood why he did it, why he wanted to make the children happy, and smiled. It felt foreign to smile as much as she had the past 2 days because there wasn't anything to smile about in the DOV.

It was darkness and Wonderful was light.

As far as they were concerned, they had plenty to be happy over. It was summer, it was warm, they had restocked some of the food stores, and Taker had announced that they would try returning within a day to fetch the stuff that wasn't necessarily an essential at the moment. Come winter, however, any additional clothing or blankets they could find would be wanted and needed. Hell, they ought to dig out one of the old trailers and try salvaging materials too, if only it wasn't so damn far away. His eyes moved to Abigail, taking note of the way she was just observing everything, some confusion, some joy on her face. What kind of life had she left behind?

It was a bittersweet feeling to be here in Wonderful because, as much joy and happiness flowed through this place, she wanted that for everyone. She wanted her people liberated, feeling a responsibility to them to free them from Bray's tyranny. Sighing, Abigail became lost in thought while staring into the fire, not realizing someone sat down beside her... until she felt a finger tap her shoulder.

"Santa Claus done with his duty for the night?" She joked with a smile, laughing as he rolled his eyes and shook a closed fist at her playfully. "Hey, you can thank Stephanie for that one. But I do have a question. Does Santa Claus receive gifts because…" Pulling something out of her back pocket, Abigail placed the small paperback book in his hand. "I know this story inside and out, so I don't need it anymore and I want you to have it. It's my way of saying thank you for letting me stay here. But you have to promise me you won't destroy it. This is one book you keep and read it when you want to since you like to read as much as me. Will you do that for me?"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

He stared down at the book, frowning. "I don't have time to read." Taker grunted, pushing the book back at her. It'd be his luck he would get lost in the story and forget what he was supposed to be doing. At her somewhat crestfallen look, he rolled his eyes and sighed loudly, mocking exasperation. "Fine, just put those big puppy eyes away." He took the book, eyeing it before slipping it into the inside pocket of his vest. "Thank you, and… here." He held up his fingers, nothing. Snapped them, and a lollipop was there. That was just good old-fashioned, sleight of hand trickery, something his Dad had taught him a long time ago. "Go enjoy yourself." He had to go relieve the watch, have them get down here and would man the walls alone tonight.

She took the lollipop from him and twirled it around, not remembering the last time she had one. "You do know, it's okay to have fun once in a while yourself, right?" Abigail nudged him playfully, looking back down at the lollipop and then into the fire. "And I am having fun. I'm content to sit here and watch." Hell, she didn't even know HOW to have fun anymore because being in the DOV sucked it all out of her. Stephanie, pregnant and glowing, was dancing with Johnny by the fire along the other couples and singles mingling as well.

Taker stared down at her, frowning and stepped back. Why was she touching him? He felt annoyed. This woman was new. She wasn't trusted yet and, as if someone were pulling his strings, he seemed to seek her out whether he wanted to or not.

"I have plenty of fun." He informed her and then turned away, eyes scanning for his second in command. "Austin, I'm going to go send the boys down."

"You take too long, and we'll open up the whiskey without you, and it's your favorite kind, boss."

"And what a shame that'd be."

"Not kiddin', Taker."

He was considering coming back down as Steve… naked. Smirking, he disappeared into the darkness. That would be hilarious.

Sure enough, everyone began roaring with laughter and woman turning red at the sight of Steve Austin…naked, an hour later. What the HELL? Abigail immediately averted her gaze, covering her mouth with her hand and then did a doubletake.

"TAKER, YOU SUMBITCH!"

Undertaker was NAKED as STEVE?! Abigail chanced a look, moving from the clothed Steve to the naked one and immediately averted her gaze again.

"NOBODY LOOK! THAT'S MY STEVIE!" Petite Trish, standing around 5 feet tall, maybe a little taller, tried to shield Steve's genitals from all the eyes of Wonderful, or eyes that had joined the celebration. "This is a dirty play, Calaway!"

Calaway? So Undertaker DID have an actual name. Abigail figured that much, sipping her water, since she refused to drink, and watched now that Trish had somewhat covered naked Steve up.

"Good lawd, I didn't realize how hung you are, Stevie!"

"Damn it! Trish, you didn't tell us you go to bed with THAT every night!"

Trish turned three shades of red.

"What, this?" Taker gestured to the goods Trish was shielding. "Now ladies, don't get your hopes up. I gave him a few good extra inches because I felt sorry for the tiny bastard."

"HEY! THAT'S NOT TRUE, I'M HUNG LIKE A GODDAMN HORSE!"

Laughing, Taker shifted back to the long black hair and black beard look, smirking when people started to see if he was going to remain naked. Not happening. He was topless however. Steve was still not amused, telling anyone who would listen about the size of his appendage. Taker was an asshole.

Thank the stars the kids had been sent to bed…

Never in her life had Abigail laughed so hard. Tears – actual tears of happiness and joy – slid down her cheeks from how hard she was laughing, having keeled over on the ground, holding her stomach. Everyone was pretty much doing the same thing besides a few gawking single women, who couldn't stop staring at him. When he returned to his original form, or one of them, with the long black hair and beard, shirtless, Abigail had to learn how to breathe again for an entirely different reason.

Taker was a beautiful man, sculpted to perfection and chiseled out of stone. Or in this case, Mythril. Without a shadow of a doubt, she knew that dagger he'd taken from her was made from Mythril, even though he hadn't told her. She knew because of Bray and Malcolm's intel. Abigail had to get her head in the game, knowing this wasn't the time to have fun. She had to stay focused and, starting tomorrow, she would begin preparing for the inevitable battle with the DOV. They would come for her, eventually, and she had to be ready for them. First order of business was building her upper body strength and then…she would learn how to shoot a gun, even if it was a BB gun.

"Hey, you sexy thing, Stephanie said you're to stop looking so glum." Johnny said, dancing in front of Abigail playfully, swinging his hips in wide circles. Stephanie was taking a breather; she had been watching Abigail go from laughing to serious and ordered him to come play cheer-up crew. "Come on," He took Abigail's hand and led her to the area where people were dancing. "Can you dance?"

Taker had gone to get himself a drink, standing and talking quietly with Bradshaw, watching with a raised brow as John Cena made a fool of himself. Stephanie had weird taste in men.

"No, I don't." Abigail was suddenly twirled and dipped before set back on her feet by Johnny, bringing a small smile to her face.

"Time to learn, watch me, homie girl."

Abigail raised a brow, watching his feet work and tried picking it up, but ended up tripping over her own feet. Luckily, he caught her before she'd gone into the fire. "I really don't have a clue how to dance…" Bray didn't allow celebrations and functions to happen at the DOV, due to the women being…preoccupied.

"Come on, just feel the beat!" Johnny stood behind her, placing his hands on her hips and began moving her from side to side, deciding to take baby steps. "Just close your eyes and feet the beat, let the music flow through you." He was a huge fan of music and made sure Wonderful had a band, which was currently playing for the celebration.

"You're crazy. I don't-" Abigail sighed when he continued swaying with her and decided to go along with it, getting the motion of her body on track before moving her feet from one to the other. "Okay, that's not so bad, I guess…" Another trip happened seconds later. "Then again…"

"How the hell do you not know how to dance?!"

"Not a big priority where I come from, Cena. Thanks for the lesson, but dancing's not for me. Sorry…homie boy."

"Oh no, you're going to learn!" Amy appeared, grabbing Abigail's hands and raised them up over their heads. "Come on!" She started just dancing in place, grinning. "You don't get to leave until you learn!"

Ron watched in amusement as Abigail tried mimicking, then spotted 'Chet' coming, sparing a glance over to where Taker had last been. He spotted long black hair over that way, and then back to 'Chet'. That was just sneaky.

That was sly, and Amy smirked. "Hey Chet! Come teach Abbie to dance!"

So much for just blending in and getting close without being noticed.

Where'd he been hiding all this time? Abigail smiled at him while continuing to wave her hands in the air like Amy, laughing. This was ridiculous and fun…she was having fun! It still worried her the DOV would attack, but maybe for one night, she could let her hair down and have some fun.

"Okay – okay!"

She laughed when Chet stepped up to her and lifted her arms the same way Amy had, waving them along with his. Now they were doing some kind of dancing where they held their nose and dipped down. Something called the swim. What the hell? When they demanded her to do it, she followed suit and couldn't help laughing.

"Come on Chet, you know any dance moves you wanna show me?" Once again, that odd familiar feeling washed over her, but Abigail couldn't pinpoint why.

"Nah, I leave all that crazy shit to Amy." He laughed, dancing with them.

It was easier, dancing as Chet, because Chet was not a near seven-foot giant. That looked awkward, at least for him. Not to mention, Taker wanted to see how Abigail interacted with others more her… station, he guessed, he wasn't sure how else to word it.

"Watch it, new girl!"

He caught Abbie before she could go flying, turning his head to watch as Melina Bautista made her way to the alcohol, frowning. She had lost her husband not too long ago and had been… well, a bit of a mean drunk ever since.

"S-Sorry…" Frowning, Abigail looked up at Chet and then back at Melina, seeing she was pouring liquor down her throat like it was going out of style. It wasn't a surprise when he excused himself to go talk to her and her eyes grew wide when she actually splashed the whiskey in his face.

"Oh shit, the party's over." Amy mumbled, watching as 'Chet' transformed back into a PISSED off Undertaker and swallowed hard, seeing the shock on Abigail's face.

Chet was…Abigail couldn't believe this! She'd been deceived and then he forced her to not only eat with him, but to tell him what she'd learned, to basically reiterated what he taught her! She watched as he also transformed, muscles rippling, black hair hanging down his back and he had what looked to be a devil's beard, his eyes a dangerous acidic, though she couldn't see them at the moment due to getting a side shot. Melina's husband had been Dave Bautista, a brave soldier that had been taken by the DOV, tortured for days before being executed. His head had been sent to the gates of Wonderful in a square pine box.

Well, so much for the 'Chet' look, though Stephanie had a feeling Taker would simply come up with another one.

"WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE TO STOP THEM?" Melina screamed, not caring who saw her abusing their leader as she began hitting him in the chest with closed fists. "HOW WAS THE MIGHTY FUCKING UNDERTAKER NOT ABLE TO STOP THEM?!"

The acid died, being replaced by sadness as he let her vent her grief and anger out on him. Simply put: he wasn't as mighty as they all hoped. Magic wore him out, more than he had known it would, and sometimes… things just happened.

That wasn't tolerated in DOV, at all. Melina would've been executed on the spot and, yet, here Undertaker was just taking her abuse. Letting her vent her anger and frustration out on him, her heartache and pain over losing her husband. Abigail had literally stepped into another dimension, she was sure of it. Women actually got away with hitting men here? With voicing their opinions and not being punished for it? They weren't used simply to have unnaturally born babies? This was…normal. Abigail wanted to stop this, seeing the pain and anguish on Taker's face and, for some reason, her heart broke for him. Hell, her heart had been breaking for the entire town of Wonderful.

"THEY TOOK MY DAVID! THEY TOOK HIM FROM ME AND YOU LET IT HAPPEN! YOU'RE SPINELESS AND YOUR MAGIC IS BULLSHIT! EVERYONE SHOULD JUST LEAVE! EVERYONE SHOULD JUST GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE BECAUSE ALL YOU'LL DO IS LEAD THEM TO THEIR DOOM LIKE MY DAVID!"

"Then leave."

That jolted Melina out of her rage temporarily, her eyes narrowing in on the new girl. "Excuse me? What did you just say?"

"I said then leave. Do you need your ears cleaned out or do you have selective hearing? See those gates behind me? Go for it, leave and see how far you get. Because I guarantee you, sweetheart, the pain you feel now will be NOTHING compared to the pain the DOV will put you through."

"H-How dare you…"

"How dare I what? Speak the truth? Tell you what an asshole you're being to this man, who has the weight of the world on his shoulders trying to protect this entire town? Trying to protect YOU, so the same thing doesn't happen to you or anyone else? Because let me tell you something, once the DOV is through with breeding their women, they kill them. They slaughter them and burn the bodies. Is that what you want?" When Melina just shook her head, Abigail took a deep breath and placed a hand on her shoulder. "So instead of drowning your sorrows in a bottle of whiskey and screaming at the man NOT responsible for your husband's death, how about you stand up and fight in his honor instead?"

"W-Who are you?" Melina felt powerless against this woman, sniffling and could feel herself sobering up because of what the new girl said to her.

"I'm nobody. Just an outsider looking in, hoping one day to be welcomed in this beautiful place. And I realize we're at war, so now isn't the time to fall apart. Are you going to let them win?"

"No." Melina gritted her teeth, wiping her tears away and looked at the bottle in her hand, dropping it to the ground. "I will make every single one of those bastards pay for taking my David away from me!"

"Good."

Abigail watched as Melina apologized to the Undertaker, crying as she did so, and the man simply consoled her. It was still amazing to witness, no matter how many times she saw it happen. Men and women were truly equal here. Abigail knew Taker would be angry with her for speaking on his behalf, but…she couldn't stand to see him verbally castrated the way he was. Knowing she wasn't welcome at the bonfire anymore, Abigail made her way through the crowd and into the common house to her bed, staring up at the full lit moon while laying down, eventually falling asleep. Tomorrow, her training would begin, and she vowed to stop the DOV and Bray, no matter what.

"I want to know who she really is and where she really comes from."

"You don't believe her?"

"Anyone who speaks like that to a total stranger, while being new in a strange town, is used to being in a… protected position." Taker argued flatly. "She's only been here 2 days." And apparently decided that insulting and belittling a grieving woman, a now single mother, was a good idea… "First, she is quiet and meek, and now… no, she's used to being protected, and it is showing."

"Well, Salny wasn't all that bad a place last I knew…"

"Melina did need to hear that though."

"Perhaps," Taker allowed, nodding in agreement. "But I still want her watched."

"You seem to do plenty of watchin' for all of us, boss."

That was also true, and he frowned, wanting to know what it was about Abigail drawing him in.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

A week passed, then another, as Abigail became more familiar with Wonderful. Undertaker was snooping around, and she'd cut him off at every turn, doing it with a smile. Her story had never changed, not once, and nobody knew anything about her, not really. The day after the bonfire incident, she began training and pushing herself, focusing on her upper body strength. Of course, she didn't neglect her job at the common house, so around 4 AM every morning she would get up to start training.

There was a workout facility with weights that were saved, mostly for men, and Abigail knew that's where she had to go in order to build upper body strength. She started out with a measly 20 pounds, doing reps, remembering how the soldiers did it in the DOV. Then, she added more weights after a week passed by, lifting 50 pounds now. Every morning it was the same routine along with every night. Amy had gotten her a long stick of sorts and began teaching her something called martial arts. It was an old-school style of self-defense and worked in a woman's favor. Abigail had nothing else to do, nobody to spend time with besides the girls, and focused all of her strength and energy on training.

By week three, Amy was impressed with how fast Abigail's ability to pick this up was and they began sparring with the sticks, crashing them together. "Watch your footwork!"

"I am!" Abigail went down as soon as she spoke, her focus still not at 100%, and landed on her back, breathing heavily. She had on just a black sports bra – Stephanie's idea for training – and black tight shorts with her black tennis shoes on.

"Again?"

Abigail nodded, a smirk curving her lips. "Yeah, again."

"I'll take over." He had been amused, watching, and she did not have the footwork down at all. Abigail was applying herself, that was for sure, but… this art wasn't something one just 'picked up', even Amy was still training to reach the next skill level. Taker took Amy's bo-staff, eyeing it, and then ran his hands over it, lengthening it for his size. "Your staff is a bo-staff." He informed Abigail, today sporting auburn hair and a mustache/goatee combo, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans and his boots. "And what she's been teaching you is a martial art known as Bojutsu."

Why did he want to train with her? Taker had kept his distance, mostly, for the past week, after she reiterated the same story to him about her arrival the previous week. He didn't believe her, she could see and sense it.

"Bojutsu, okay…" Abigail gripped her own staff, stick, whatever it was called, and they began circling each other. "You're going to hand me my ass, I already know that, Undertaker." But she wouldn't go down without a fight as their staffs began to clash and she hit the ground again. "Damn it, why can't I get the footwork down?" He extended his hand and she took it, feeling him pull her up with ease. Her body was already coated in a fine sheen of sweat, her black hair pulled up in a messy bun on top of her head instead of in its usual braid.

He had stayed away from her for several reasons. One, he was a busy man and a single woman wasn't more important than the collective whole. Two, she was hiding something from him, from them. While that wasn't unusual, because a lot of people had their secrets, their demons, it was annoying the piss out of him because she wasn't… like others; she intrigued him. Taker wasn't really alright with that.

"You really don't know why you can't get the footwork down?" He asked curiously, raising his bo-staff again. When she shook her head, he was suddenly in her space and she went down again. "You're relying too much on your staff to keep people away."

"Okay…"

When he ordered her to go again, Abigail obliged and tried taking his advice, allowing her body to control the way the staff moved. This was also spiritual, according to Amy, though Abigail didn't know if she believed that. To her, there was no god, not with the way Vesperia was these days. Down she went again, groaning while staring up at the slightly cloudy sky. Taker reached down to take her hand, pulling her up again to her feet.

"Thanks. By the way, I did what you said, or advised, I guess. Worked on my upper body strength and I think I'm getting stronger." Maybe. Hopefully.

"You are." She was starting to develop muscles actually and he hoped she knew when to stop or else she would have very grotesque-looking arms. He rather liked her arms the way they were, his emerald green eyes raking over her thoughtfully before snapping back to attention. His distraction cost him when Abigail lunged forward and knocked her bo-staff against his knees. Taker started to buckle, stepping back a few paces and managed to keep himself up. Knees on a big man, smart woman. He would also not be checking her out again, while she was holding a weapon, and flashed her a grin.

"All right again, darlin'." Staff was up.

While he checked her out, she gave him a scan of her own, though she wasn't as blatant as him. Abigail didn't know how to feel about that; she had noticed a twinkle in his eyes and it made her smile, butterflies erupting in her stomach. Why did she feel a strong connection with him? She felt like a magnet being sucked in by his forcefield and she was powerless to stop it. Her distraction cost her a shot to the arm, making her drop her staff before being tripped as she landed on her back again.

"Will you teach me the footwork?"

Amy wasn't able to do it, but maybe Taker could as he helped her up again, midnight blue on emerald green. Abigail didn't realize she'd rested her hand against his sweaty bare chest, holding her staff with the other or how close they were now. What were these sensations she felt, this heat? Abigail hadn't felt remotely anything close to this with Bray in all their make-out sessions.

Taker wasn't entirely sure what he was doing, or what he was feeling himself. He had been in love, once, and she had… well, she had been murdered. DOV, of course, same story as many others, like Melina, which was why he had empathized with her so much. Except he didn't have any children, they had talked about it of course, but… they hadn't. She had gone down fighting, refusing to be taken for breeding, and he had been fighting to get to her. It had been in the early days before he knew the extent of his magical abilities. He would never make that mistake again.

"Yes." He answered quietly, not moving because then she might pull away and he was rather enjoying this.

Why did it suddenly feel like an inferno had sparked inside of her? It was hot outside, but she felt as if she'd been doused in fire. Did a simple touch really cause this much intensity? Apparently so. Did he feel the same way she did at that moment, like his entire body had been engulfed in flames? Abigail sincerely hoped so and felt her heart rate kick up a notch at the color his eyes gave.

Suddenly, she wondered if he'd use magic on her the same way he had a few weeks ago to eat with him. Was he forcing her to feel this way or was this all of her? Would he be that sneaky? The Chet thing came to mind. Instead of pulling her hand away, she took a chance and slid it a little more to her right – his left – over his heart. Sure enough, it was pounding like a beating drum against his chest and it made her brows furrow in wonder.

"Hey, you two, enough with the fuckin' goo-goo eyes, we got work!"

Steve was still holding a grudge, all these weeks later, over the penis thing… sighing, Taker pulled away from her. "Tomorrow, you're coming with me on a run outside the gates." He informed her, reaching down to brush a strand of her ebony hair out of her face. "Bright and early, I will clear it for you with Stephanie." And then he realized, he probably should have asked and not told, clearing his throat. "If… you want too." A little better.

"Will it be you or…Chet?" Abigail remarked softly, smiling when he rolled his eyes and giggled, nodding. "Just us?" He affirmed with a nod. "Alright, I suppose I can keep you company for a while, Taker."

Winking, she walked past him and jogged off to go help with dinner, knowing she was late because of Undertaker…again. Damn him and his distractions! Or being a distraction! Why did he want to spend the day with her alone? The thought both alarmed and excited her all at the same time.

"I'm here, I'm here!"

"Geez, cutting it a little close, don't you think, Abbie?"

"Get in the kitchen and get started. You already know what we're having tonight." Each day was a designated set menu, so they knew exactly what rations they had and what they needed on the excursions.

"Sorry." Abigail mumbled, rushing past Stephanie and began cooking.

* * *

"Thought you didn't trust her?"

"How am I supposed to trust her if I don't know her?"

"Since when do you care?"

"Man, can't we just use magic?"

Johnny didn't give a fuck who or what Taker was doing or trusted, he just wanted to get the job done. They had been experimenting with that solar power stuff since Spring, and so far, it was working. It was Jeff and Matt's design, these storage things for winter and, since those weirdos were also kind of brainy, they were trying it. But that also meant installing more of these damn solar panels.

"Hard work is good for you, man!" Jeff laughed wholeheartedly. "I like Abbie, she's pretty neat." He also thought she'd be good for Taker. Jeff was an eccentric, sometimes kooky, sometimes overly romantic, brainiac.

* * *

"So, why did Amy come back from training early, but you didn't?" Stephanie asked, observing Abigail kneading the dough she had spent a great deal of time on for the rolls for dinner. Amy already told her why, but she wanted to see if Abigail would tell her the truth.

"Undertaker intervened and wanted to take over for her." Abigail couldn't stop the smile stretching across her face whenever she said his name – or at least, that's what he called himself around everyone. "What is that look for?"

"You like him, don't you?"

"No, of course not!" That was a big fat lie and it was horribly done. "I mean…"

"Don't try denying it, girl. I know that look, believe me." Stephanie assured her with a smile, though it faded a little. "Abbie, he's had it rough. I know you have too, we all have, but…just be careful. Don't hurt him. He means a lot to us."

"Have you seen that man? There's no way I'd ever be able to…" Then she stopped, understanding what Stephanie was actually saying and felt her cheeks flare-up. "He doesn't think of me that way, so you have no worries. He wants to take me out with him tomorrow, just us, but…" Oh god, was this a date?! "Oh shit…"

"Yeah, oh shit. Look, we like you, but we love him, and we need him. For as big a bastard as he can be, and as weird as he is, we really need him." Stephanie's hands dropped to her stomach, which was beginning to show. "Of course, if he messes you around, we'll beat the magic right out of him." She added with a smile, letting Abigail know if Taker screwed up, they had her back. If Abigail screwed up though, they were going to have to bake her into meat pies. "So… you need a special outfit?"

"N-No…no I'm not going."

Stephanie was absolutely right. What the hell was she thinking?! This was no time to go on a date or have any kind of romance! They were at WAR and Bray would be here before she knew it. Abigail still hadn't told Undertaker who she really was and why she was here either.

"It's stupid and I'm stupid for even considering it. I'll tell him when I bring him his dinner tonight."

Bad idea, such a bad idea! She was a VIRGIN for fuck's sake and he'd lost the love of his life because of the DOV! That cemented her decision not to go; he would have to understand and if he didn't, well…better safe than sorry.

"First batch in!"

"You're not taking him his supper anymore, Abbie." Stephanie said, shaking her head when Abigail looked at her. "Nope. One, we have a new guy who wandered in, and Taker likes to rotate out the people coming in with his meal."

Anybody who was out to kill him might try poisoning him. Not only was he getting to know the new person, but he was also seeing if they were trustworthy. He had been poisoned two times so far.

"And two… if you're bailing on him, when he goes out tomorrow on a run, after he specifically invited you, you have no business being in that tower." Cause… why torture the guy?

"Okay, sounds good."

Less contact with Taker, the better. Abigail could not get distracted right now and continued cooking, alongside Stephanie and Amy. She had a feeling Stephanie was upset with her, but she'd have to get over it. It hurt her to make this decision, but at the same time, it was for the best. Once dinner was done and served to everyone, Abigail began doing dishes, trying to keep herself busy. Usually, she would stop and take a break to eat dinner, but not tonight.

Her stomach was in knots because she knew Bray wouldn't wait much longer and she had to act soon. Not tonight, but soon. Hell, Bray hadn't given her a time limit and, ever since she'd been here, there wasn't ONE problem or altercation with the DOV. It was because of her... because he didn't want her to get hurt and he was protecting her. Then her thoughts turned to the new guy that came into town…Abigail hoped Bray hadn't sent another one of his men in here or she was screwed.

Taker survived the night, no poison or poison attempt, which was great because the last two times had sucked. They had been fast-acting poisons and he was pretty sure the only reason he was still alive was because of his brother's magic. He really did owe everything to his deceased little brother and, hopefully, one day in the far future, he'd be able to thank him properly in the beyond.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Bright and early the next morning, he stood in the common house, listening as Abigail tried to explain away why she was unable to go, frowning. "Get off the apron, woman, you're coming."

Amy ever so helpfully untied it and danced away, giggling.

"I'm gonna kick your ass in training later, Red."

"Looking forward to it, sweetheart." Amy blew her a kiss, laughing and bumped her hip against Abigail's. "Now get outta here before Stephanie unleashes her pregnancy temper on you."

"I-It's not pretty either, homie girl."

Groaning, Abigail knew she was outnumbered and reluctantly followed Taker out of the common house, wearing an orange tank top and blue jeans since they would be on his bike. She thought her excuse of not wanting to leave Stephanie to do the majority of the cooking and cleaning would've gotten her off the hook. Nope. Not one bit. Taker did not like hearing the word and something told her very vaguely did he not get what he wanted. She'd braided her hair to hang over her shoulder again, hating to leave it down because it was so damn long.

"Alright Mr. Disguise, where are you taking me at 6 AM?" She broke the silence once they were outside of the gates, the sun already rising over the horizon.

"It's a surprise."

He wasn't disguised right now, figuring since it was just the two of them, out in the open, they'd be fine. With everyone a bit paranoid about the absent DOV, which had happened around the same time, disguises really weren't needed at the moment. Taker slid a pair of sunglasses on, his Harley ready to go, and led her over to it.

"You're riding bitch again." She still hadn't learned to drive one on her own, not that he minded. "Or… you can sit in front of me… and I'll keep an arm around you." His eyes flashed behind the lens.

His arm around her the whole time they rode together sounded heavenly and Abigail found herself wanting to experience what it was like to ride in the front. "I've never rode in the front before, so…front."

If he was surprised, his sunglasses hid it well as she mounted the bike after him, her back pressed against his chest. Instead of holding onto the handlebars, the only other option was his thighs that also surrounded her. Oh man, this was a bad idea because now she was burning up. The injury he'd had was gone and fully healed with just a slight yellowish tint around his eye. Abigail felt his arm snake around her, the Harley firing up beneath her and the vibration, combined with being held by him, put her senses on overdrive. When he murmured in her ear if she was ready, she nodded and a few seconds later, they were off.

It was an hour or so, the way he drove anyway, later when they arrived at their destination. Being one lone motorcycle meant he could take shortcuts and paths that weren't usually feasible when all of them went out. That required more road and easy access to get out of bad situations. His hair today was an odd shade, it was a darkish red/brown with hints of black in certain light, a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee combo, his skin a little paler than he usually kept it and his normally green eyes were sporting flecks of gray in them.

Abigail had taken rather well to his constant changes, it was… odd, actually. Refreshing, but odd. He cut the engine once they were in what had once been the center of a small town, looking around. Taker hadn't seen anything besides a few animals on their way and hardly anybody came here now. Everything of value had been stripped away. Dismounting, he helped her off the motorcycle before taking Abigail by the hand and navigated the ruins of what used to be an entrance. Finally ducking under a toppled column, they stepped into the large rotunda of the town's library. Other than the entrance, the building was in great shape considering its age and the years of neglect.

"Here we are."

His appearance didn't bother her because she'd already expected the different disguises. She just didn't know it was done by magic…until Stephanie and Trish spilled the beans. It had shocked her to find out he was Chet, but that hadn't bothered her either, for some reason.

"Oh my god…" Abigail's jaw dropped at the sight of the inside, covering her mouth with her free hand. It was a library. He brought her to an actual library! "I-I didn't think these existed anymore…" She admitted, suddenly feeling excitement surge through her and beamed, eyes taking in everything surrounding them. Aisle upon aisles of books that didn't look too damaged and in fairly good condition stared back at her. "This is amazing! Shakespeare, I have to see if they have Shakespeare here…oh and Edgar Allan Poe! Hemingway, Stephen King, Twain and Dickens and…" She looked up at him, seeing he was trying so hard not to laugh at her and felt her cheeks burn. "Sorry, I love books…"

"Me too." He said, though not quite as excitedly as she had.

Taker came here several times a year and usually took a few back home with him, passing them out, hoping to at least start a little library for those who might want to read. However, during the winter, books were not as revered as they should've been. "Go on, have a look. Take what you can carry and comfortably hide." He winked at her. "I only ever take a few myself… feels wrong to take too many, you know?" How old was she? He wondered, eyeing her thoughtfully. "You ever have a library card? Not many people remember those…"

"No, I've never been to an actual library. My…Mom would bring books home for me on occasion from the local bookstore down the street."

Swap that for Bray and it was the truth, only it wasn't from a local bookstore, it was a library he'd gone to three times a year. For her. They didn't want to educate the women since they were killed after breeding anyway and the men cared more about fighting and growing their muscles than actually learning about reading, writing, math – the basics. Abigail released his hand and headed down the aisle, reading the faded signs hanging from the ceiling. She found what she was looking for, deciding she would bring back one book from each of her favorite authors.

He and Glen had gone to the library every week. They would get books of all kinds, fiction and non-fiction. They had grown up in a small town, without much outside prospects, so books had been his world and his best education. Glen had loved renting old videos off the small shelf with it's even smaller selection. He had lost count of how many times they had watched an old VHS of Bambi.

"I'll be over in the 'How To' section, darlin'." Taker called after her before turning. Jeff and Matt would appreciate some new material and he idly wondered if he would find something about solar power here.

"Okay, holler if you need me!" Abigail called back, sifting through the books and plucked out a couple, making sure they were paperback.

Hardcover was great and all, but not when she had to ride on a motorcycle for an hour. In the foster home, she would read to Bray at night, while treating his wounds, to help get his mind off the pain he was in. Then, once he created the DOV and they'd found, and took over, the castle, that type of intimacy had gone away, and Bray didn't want to be read to. All he did want was to make out with her and he'd even gotten angry with her one night when she asked if he wanted her to read to him. Sighing, Abigail headed into the next aisle, picking another one while running her fingertips over the rest, as if personally marking them. She would be back here again, especially since Taker enjoyed the library. Once she had 5 books, Abigail figured that was enough and went to find Taker, seeing the was still in the 'How To' section.

"Find what you were looking for?"

"Sort of." Taker flashed her the cover of a textbook he was browsing through. "I'm a fairly smart guy, but this way above my pay grade. Pretty sure Matt and Jeff will get some use out of it." He tucked it in the leather satchel he was wearing and then smiled slightly. "I also found this for Stephanie." He held up a paperback 'What to Expect When You're Expecting'. "We used to have a copy, years ago, but it got left out one day and we never seen it again. Figured she might find something in here to… I don't know… help her?" Helping birth a baby was one thing, no problem, he had done that several times, but helping a woman with questions about pregnancy, not so much. He just knew how babies were made. "What'd you find, darlin'?"

He really did care about his people and never took the time to make himself happy. Abigail had noticed that over the past month she'd been in Wonderful. "She'll love it and appreciate it, I'm sure. Same with the brainiacs." Jeff was a riot to be around and made her laugh. Matt was a creep, but a smart creep, so she supposed he was safe enough to be around. "That's pretty incredible, you putting everyone else before yourself. You really do care about every single person in Wonderful, don't you?" When he muttered good-naturedly 'not Steve', she laughed and shook her head, not believing that for a second. "Thank you for bringing me here. This is the…nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. I mean it."

He knew what she thought, Taker didn't take enough time for himself, and she was only partially correct. He had his tower, his retreat, but doing for others who couldn't, especially in these times, was what drove him every day. It wasn't because he was into self-sacrifice, he wasn't, he could be the most ruthless son of a bitch there was, but…. someone had to step up. "You're welcome, darlin'." He smiled down at her, reaching out to push yet another flyaway strand of hair out of her eyes.

Her cheeks flushed again as she looked away from him, clearing her throat and had her own satchel he'd given her prior to coming. "Okay mister, we're not leaving here until we find YOU something you like. You've looked for others, now it's time to look for you." Abigail had no idea how much time he wanted to spend here and knew they had to be back fairly soon, but not before Taker treated himself. She grabbed his hand, not minding when he laced their fingers together and guided him away from the 'How To' section. "Alright, you take the lead because I have no idea what kind of books you're into. What kind of books DO you like anyway?"

He promptly turned her right back around, grinning when Abigail sighed in exasperation. "Abbie, you might as well get used to it because this is what I do, it's what I like to do. And also…" He plucked a book right off the shelf, holding it out to her. Hardback, filled with pictures of motorcycles and information on how to fix and tinker with them. "That right there is porn." Now that he thought about it… he hadn't seen actual porn in years…eyed her, trying not to smile. She would slap him silly if she knew how his thoughts had just rambled away.

"Porn?"

Abigail didn't know what that was due to how sheltered she'd been throughout her life – first in the foster home and then Bray. Her world had revolved around Bray and the DOV for years. When he just gaped at her, she cleared her throat awkwardly and rubbed the back of her neck, having a feeling it was something she probably should've known at age 26.

"As long as it's something YOU enjoy, that's all that matters." She could not meet his eyes because he kept staring at her in shock. "Okay, why are you gawking at me like that? I don't know what porn is, there I said it, happy?"

"You… really?" Taker couldn't believe that, frowning. She had to be younger than him, but not by that much, right? He was only in his early 30's, she… his frowned deepened. "You are over 21, right?" When she nodded, he felt marginally better. "Sheltered life?" Another nod. He began to grin, feeling a little… devilish. "Porn, darlin', used to be a big thing. Old videos, or shit on the Internet, or magazines, even books… all about sex and naked people." Now Abigail knew, and he seen her blush. "Consenting, all done in fun. Not… not that DOV shit." Well, that had gone wrong.

"So, porn is sex…" Abigail said it thoughtfully, knowing the question was burning on Taker's tongue and decided to save him the trouble. "I'm 26, Undertaker." That sounded really lame because what 26-year-old didn't know about porn?

She knew about sex, somewhat, only what Bray had shown her though. Abigail hadn't been allowed to touch him below the belt, only caressing his shoulders, chest, arms and back, along with kissing. She felt his eyes on her, burning into her and she shifted uncomfortably, shouldering the satchel since it felt loose.

"I know, shocking right?" How the hell was a book about motorcycles porn though? "Wait, you called that porn, but there's no sex in that book. Isn't that what porn is based on or…never mind, forget it." Wow, she sounded like a dipshit.

Taker could only gape at her again, wondering just what kind of life she had lived in Salny. Abigail had survived the war; she would've been a kid back then though… a child. How did he explain the joke?

"It's… a joke." He said, knowing he sounded like an idiot. "You know, porn was tailored to people… like…" Taker stopped, not about to talk to her about the different types of porn. "Just, forget it, darlin'." Wow… he sounded like a pervert!

A joke…he thought calling a book about motorcycles was a joke? Then Abigail realized what he'd done – it was a metaphor, something she DID know about. "Sorry." She mumbled, feeling incredibly embarrassed and figured she might as well come clean to him about something else regarding herself. "You're going to find this out eventually, so I'll just tell you now. I'm…umm…I've never had sex before. I'm a virgin. That's why I don't, or didn't, know what porn was. I've…done the kissing and touching making out stuff, but…never anything more than that." Abigail let out a shaky breath, feeling somewhat of a weight lifted from her shoulders. "And I know it's pathetic because I'm 26, so I'd appreciate it if we could keep this between us. I don't…need anyone else knowing about this in Wonderful. Will you do that for me?"

She always said way too much when she could have just shortened it too she didn't know much about sex. Would have said the same thing with less words and why the hell was she telling him this? "If you don't want people knowing you're a virgin, then why are you telling me? What does that have to do with anything?"

He was genuinely confused because, before he had had his first sexual encounter, he had still known quite a bit about sex. People talked and joked; sex was just one of those topics a lot of people learned about early on. And why was Abigail telling him about what she had done? This woman made absolutely no sense at all and Taker found himself grinning at her.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Taker was right.

Why WAS she telling him her personal information?!

"I…" There was no answer, rhyme or reason for telling him she was a virgin. At all. Abigail blamed him because he made her flustered and she wasn't able to think straight around him. "I don't know." She finally muttered, feeling mortified and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. Yes, this was very awkward and humiliating and the fact he was grinning at her like a fool just made things worse. "Okay new subject, anything…and to answer your question earlier, yes, I found 5 books I've been wanting to read from my favorite authors. Did you wanna look for something else?"

He actually came here on a mission. Not only had she expressed a love of books, so he had wanted to surprise her, but Taker had combined that with them actually needing some books. "Solar power for the boys, motorcycles for me, probably grab something else, if anything catches my eye… and I want to check out the kid's section." At Abbie's confused look, he smiled slightly. "The kids, darlin'. I don't know how things are done in Salny, but… we know what happens to those poor kids in the DOV, their turned into… into freaks. We're trying to raise these ones with… some education." A bit of happiness too, he supposed. "Want me to see about finding you a book on sex?" His grin had turned decidedly wicked and he was rewarded with roses in her cheeks.

"No – no – no, that's quite alright. I'm good, I know the…mechanics of it with the penis in the…you know what? I'm just gonna shut up now, okay? Okay!" Abigail rambled when she was nervous, which didn't happen often in the DOV because she'd learned to channel that nervousness due to Bray's bipolar tendencies. Kids section…kids section…Abigail found it in no time and began sifting through the books, holding out one to Mark with a serene smile. It was on potty training. "That will definitely come in handy."

"Put it back." He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "They have that down; you know how many kids we've had over the years?" Hell, quite a bit. Not as much as the DOV, but they weren't doing whatever the hell it was the DOV was to mutate those poor bastards. "Learning books, darlin', like math shit, that would be those write in books, you know? Where the kids could work out problems and shit here, but I took them all years ago and they ran out."

Potty training had never been an issue. However, panicky women, who had no idea what was going on with their bodies, was a problem. They didn't have a woman doctor on staff, just people who had learned medical knowledge over time. Doing as she was told, Abigail began looking through the books again and didn't pick one out for fear of being rejected again. Hell, it was a potty-training book for kids. She figured the kids would want to know WHY they had to go potty on a toilet as opposed to in a diaper, but that was just her. It would definitely be beneficial for Stephanie and a few of the other women who had toddlers around the age of 2. Taker knew best though, he was the boss, so she had to do as instructed. They found a small section with math learning books, some of the pages written on, but for the most part they were clean. There was also one for spelling, which was a huge plus, so they grabbed all of them to put in each of their satchels.

At least the awkwardness was over with between them, for now. Abigail still couldn't believe she had told him about being a virgin. What the hell was she thinking?! This man didn't want her sexually! Hell, she would probably be a virgin until the day she died because, once Bray came for her, she planned on killing herself before letting him get his hands on her again…if Undertaker refused to help liberate her and the victims of DOV.

Abigail seemed miffed about his rejection of the potty training book and he hadn't honestly known what to tell her. They had been doing this for over a decade, potty training came as easily as teaching kids to eat. It was natural. Taker didn't want to waste space on something that was just so easily picked up. Once they found learning books, she seemed to relax more, which was good. He had to wonder about her though. She was so damn weird. Sheltered. Awkward. It was hilarious and endearing, in a way he probably shouldn't be thinking.

"Here, catch."

Tossing her a book, Taker smirked when Abigail took in the cover and watched as she read the title before opening it and promptly dropped it. Kama Sutra. Abigail turned five shades of red, kicking the ridiculous book to the side and shook her head at a grinning Undertaker. He had that damn grin on his face again! This man infuriated her and lit her on fire like no other! It was a very weird combination, and she didn't know how to feel about it.

"I'm not reading about sex. It's not necessary. But now I know where YOUR mind is at." Right in the gutter, typical male.

Snorting when he laughed at her, Abigail continued looking through the books, not really finding anything else teaching wise. There were books that were fun, but she didn't think Taker would bring those back, so she left them alone. She was wrong; Taker walked over to a beet red Abbie and eyed the stack she had set aside, cocking an eyebrow.

"What're these?" He asked, hearing her muttering something about recreational reading and shrugged. "If you want." Taker had turned her down on the other book, then harassed her a bit, so he owed her. "Anything else you want to look at, darlin'? The town itself was picked clean years ago; not that there was much to begin with."

"No, I'm good and, like you said, we only need to bring back what can be useful. You're right."

The kids would survive without fun books, especially since libraries were no more besides this one, apparently. Maybe next time Abigail came here, if there was one, she would grab them if they were still here. This place was completely abandoned, so she doubted anyone would come here to ransack a bunch of kid-friendly books.

"Did you wanna go somewhere else besides here or head back to Wonderful?"

"We can head back. Coming here for the solar books was pretty much the point; everything else was just a bonus." When Abigail turned, he swiped all the books she had set out in his satchel, not bothering to acknowledge that stupid potty training book he had also tossed in when she wasn't looking. "I don't like being away for too long, they might miss me." Not necessarily the truth but… close enough he supposed. "You want to take the long way or short way back, darlin'?"

Now that her cheeks weren't burning anymore, Abigail felt more at ease and smiled softly, stopping to wait for him to join her before they began walking together. "I don't mind the long way." She felt him grab her hand again and looked up at him, once again feeling the butterflies erupting in her stomach. Whenever they were alone, which hadn't happened often, except the past 2 days lately, they always formed, and Abigail could feel the heat engulf her all over again. "Thank you for bringing me with you today. This was a really nice surprise, and I'll never forget it, Taker. And if you come back here in the future, I want to come with you again."

"I only come a couple times a year, darlin', but you're more than welcome to join when I do."

He never came during the winter; they all preferred to stay behind the walls then. Traveling in snow with motorcycles wasn't exactly the brightest thing to do. Leading the way out, Taker guided her under the broken columns until they were outside, blinking. When they had come in, it had been bright and sunny. It was looking a little overcast now.

"Shit."

"What's wrong?"

Abigail looked up at the sky, frowning as well. The sun was gone, and the clouds were moving in awfully fast. She jumped when a streak of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a rumble of thunder that shook the foundation of the town they stood in. A few seconds later, rain began pouring in gallons from the sky and Taker quickly scooped Abigail up to rush back into the library. It didn't matter, in that short time frame, her top had been soaked along with the top of her jeans, the material clinging to her body and curves. Her braided hair was also soaked…and she was being held against an equally soaked Taker, though her body had shielded some of him from getting the brunt of the rain.

"Maybe it'll be a quick system and we can leave afterwards?"

"Probably," He agreed, though his tone was doubtful. It was summer, and usually pretty dry. When they got storms, those damn things lasted ages it seemed. Taker groaned, running a hand through his wet hair after he had set her down. "Fuck all…" He snorted when thunder boomed, sparing her a glance. "Get out of those clothes, you'll catch sick." He stepped away from Abigail to start shedding his own as well, eyeing the material around them. Metal trashcan, desk… he could make them a contained fire to dry things quicker.

"Wait, what? Come again?" Taker wanted her to shed her clothes in front of him?! Abigail didn't know what to think or say, just standing there with her arms wrapped around herself while Taker had no problem shedding his clothes in front of her. "O-Oh god…"

She immediately turned her back to him because the man had NOTHING on under those jeans. The front of them had gotten wet along with the bottoms, so he felt the need to get them dry by taking them off. How the HELL was she supposed to look at him for the duration of the time they were here without turning into a tomato?! Another crack resonated outside, echoing through the library and Abigail suddenly felt warmth against her wet back. Taker was standing right behind her and she absolutely refused to turn around to face him, feeling her cheeks burning again. She was terrified, hadn't she ever seen a man naked before? Besides Steve, though Taker supposed that didn't count. It was just a matter of being practical. He wasn't about to get sick because of false modesty and he didn't see any reason for her to do so either.

"Here." He thought about it and then grinned. "Okay darlin', I'm decent." When she shook her head, he walked around to stand in front of her. He was fully dressed, and he watched as she looked at his clothes on the ground and then at him. "Uh… don't… touch me." He informed her when it looked like she might try. "Illusion, Abbie, I'll feel a lot different than I look." For example, she'd feel his naked junk.

Could magic really do that? Then why couldn't he dry them with it? Maybe it was a different kind of magic to where he could only do disguises and illusions. She didn't know, and it was confusing as hell.

"Sorry, I've never…I've never seen a man naked before."

Sure, the shock of him coming out as a naked Steve had been hilarious, but Abigail had keeled over to where the fire had blocked him. She'd only looked for a couple seconds…and a lot of other people were around. It was just the two of them, alone, in an abandoned old library with a storm raging outside.

"I don't think…this is a good idea…" A second later, her tank top was pulled up and over her head, leaving her clad in a simple black bra. "W-What are you doing?" Abigail stammered, watching him lower to one knee and felt the button to her jeans unsnap, his fingers hooking in the waistband to push them down her legs, stepping out of them. "I'm NOT taking these off." She referred to her bra and panties; those were NOT an option.

Rolling his eyes, Taker simply nodded, draping her clothes out over an empty shelf before doing the same with his clothes. While she shivered in her bra and panties, and he was trying not to look – really, he was – he began breaking down the desk. Time hadn't been kind to it, so… it was fairly easy. He dragged the metal trashcan into the center of the room, away from the books and began tossing the wood into it.

"Bring me my satchel, darlin'."

Move, she had to move and stop standing around or else she would end up freezing, even though it was summertime. The rain had been chilly and chilled her to the bone. If Taker wanted to build a fire, she was all for it and brought him his satchel before helping him break the smaller parts of the desk down. Blood pumping, she had to keep moving and took one of the longer wooden pieces that resembled a pole, setting it aside. Once all the pieces were in the trashcan, she let Taker handle the fire part and took the pole before standing in the hallway, beginning to swing it around like Lita taught her.

Training would keep her mind focused and body warm, so she didn't freeze. It was also a great time to work on her footing. She'd shucked her shoes off when he removed her jeans along with her socks, so she was barefoot in just her undergarments. Luckily, they weren't a see-through color or Taker would've gotten an eyeful of bra-covered nipples since they were currently erect.

He carried matches everywhere, and luckily, they weren't wet or else they would have had to rely on the old school methods. Or, Taker could have probably used magic, but he was pretty sure he had abused it enough today. Once the fire was going, he turned to watch Abigail, dropping down onto the old marble floor and winced. His ass was bare… and the floor was cold. His balls were probably tucked safely up in his body, where it was warm.

"Mind the puddle, darlin'." He could just imagine that, her slipping and going splat. When she turned, his eyes narrowed in on her breasts. That bra might not have been see-through, but it was definitely clinging to her ample curves.

"Thanks…" Abigail smiled at him, not noticing the issues Taker was having and could tell he was cold, so she walked over to him, after finding another pole that was almost as long as hers. "You said you'd help me with my footwork and this is the best way to keep warm, by moving. So, come on, train with me, please?"

She extended the pole to him, not seeing where hers was until she wound up tripping over it accidently and landed right in his lap. His NAKED lap, straddling him, and her chest was pressed against his. The clothing really was JUST an illusion, he hadn't been lying about that.

"Shit, sorry, damn pole!"

"That's not a pole, darlin'." He rumbled, in a bit of shock.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

He was chilling by a fire, getting warm, and she – supposed virgin that she was – had come sashaying over in those bits of hers… there was no way she was as innocent as she claimed. That or… stupid. His hands had automatically gone to her waist and adjusted her because he was now sporting an erection and he wasn't letting her crush that. His eyes darkened slightly when he felt her panty clad sex rub against him.

"I-I'm aware…" Abigail muttered, her eyes widening at what she brushed up against and her hands had gone to his shoulders.

She did NOT sashay over to him, she had walked and went to extend the makeshift pole to him, only to trip herself up on her OWN pole! Her coordination wasn't that great, though she had gotten better, or so Abigail thought. Not so much now. Instead of getting off him like she should've, she made the crucial mistake of meeting his eyes and her body was no longer cold. It was heated through from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, the sparks surging through every vein of her body. Her cheeks were red hot, her body flushed, and she began to tremble slightly from nervous energy, trying like hell to stay calm.

"S-Sorry…" What else was she supposed to say?

Nope, in his very male mind, she had sashayed. With a pole. In lingerie. It had been a long time since he had really desired a woman. Taker had taken a few to bed for sex because he liked sex, but true desire, not so much. He was feeling it now, and she probably was too because… he was naked. For all intents and purposes, he was naked, and fate needed to intervene because he was starting to think of a lot of 'metaphors' for her.

"You feel that electricity, darlin'?" He could feel it coursing through his veins and he bet she was too, by the way her eyes were beginning to darken.

Electricity and fire…she felt both intensely and swallowed past the lump that formed in her throat, her hands moving of their own as she caressed his chest. "Y-Yes…" His eyes had darkened along with hers, the emeralds turning into forest green orbs with a hint of smoky grey in them. There was a storm brewing between them and it was stronger than the one currently raging outside. "I-It scares me…" Abigail admitted, needing to be honest with him and felt him pull her closer to where her arms draped around his neck. "A-And excites me…at the same time…" Never once did her eyes leave his, only blinking every few seconds normally, but she couldn't break eye contact. "I-Is it supposed to feel like this? I-I feel like I'm fire and I can't stop it…"

Now that was what he wanted to hear, and Taker practically purred his approval. "Yes, darlin', it's supposed to feel like that." He whispered, his face moving ever so slowly near hers, not wanting to startle her. "Wild… fiery… passionate," His lips brushed hers. "Uncontrollable…" If she wanted to stop him, now would be a good time, but Abigail seemed to be… a bit dazed. Taker moved in for the kill, kissing her gently but firmly, letting her feel his mustache and goatee tickle at her skin as he tasted her lips.

It wasn't her first kiss, so she knew what she was doing and moaned softly against his mouth, the goatee he sported causing a whirlwind of sensations to flow through her. Abigail tightened her arms around his neck slightly, their chests pressed tightly together now and felt those sparks turn into a raging inferno. Never had she experienced something so exquisite as she did with Taker. With Bray, she had to force herself to enjoy being with him, though he was a good kisser and made all the right moves. Taker, it was pure unbridled, unadulterated passion, something so explosive, she was afraid they'd both erupt like a volcano.

However, as wonderful as this felt, as addicting as his lips were, Abigail couldn't ignore the alarm bells ringing in her head. Stephanie's words came back to her full force – We need him. Fate was a really cruel bitch because she needed him too, in several ways apparently. Tears swelled in her eyes as Abigail came back to reality in a screeching halt as the kiss broke and a single tear slid down her cheek. Taker felt something for her and it was now or never to tell him the truth. She would not have sex with him, to let him take her virginity, without him knowing who she truly was.

"T-Taker…I…have to tell you something…and you're not going to like it…" Another tear fell.

"Darlin', you already told me you were a virgin." He reminded quietly, reaching out to brush away the tear, frowning as he studied her face.

Now – now Taker was quite glad she had blurted out that piece of information because…. he was very tempted to relieve her of that burden. He watched as Abigail shook her head, capturing another tear on his thumb. She had said he wouldn't like it and felt something heavy settle in the pit of his stomach.

"What is it, Abbie?"

Deep breaths, she mentally coached, feeling every part of her tense and was afraid she'd completely fall apart. "I-I need your help, Taker. T-That's why I came to you…to Wonderful. I-I'm not who you think I am…and I know you've had suspicions about me…"

Another deep breath, Abigail was afraid her heart would explode out of her chest at any given moment. She had to continue. There was no turning back now. Pushing herself off him, Abigail had to put some space between them and began pacing back and forth, chewing her thumbnail.

"I am originally from Salny, that part I didn't…lie to you about. And my mother did die, but…she died a long time ago…a lot longer than I told you. I was fostered at age 5 and…the place was cruel. They were harsh when it came to religion. Catholics. My Mom…I saw her death, Taker. I saw my Mom die before my eyes and…I didn't speak for 5 years. When I was 10, that all changed. Everything changed. Everything changed the day I met…the leader of the Dominion of Vesperia…Bray Wyatt. My name is Abigail Waters, that wasn't a lie either. But most know me as the Queen Mother of the DOV…and you're my last hope. You're OUR last hope. I need your help…to put a stop to the DOV and to end this war, once and for all. Or we're all doomed. Vesperia as a whole will fall and be destroyed! Bray is out of his mind with what he's doing and…I can't take it anymore." Her voice cracked, more tears falling. "You can hate me all you want, but I need you to help me liberate my people. Women are being killed on a daily basis because they can't…breed like they're supposed to. There's been so much innocent blood spilled, so much death, so much darkness…I found a way out, but I won't let those people continue to suffer. And I didn't lie to you about being a virgin either. I am…though, not by choice."

As she kept talking, his face had gotten grimmer and grimmer. Taker was now leaning back, his hands palm down on the marble floor as he stared at her. Damn right he had had suspicions about her, and he hadn't been the only one. Good to know he, Steve and Stephanie had all been right.

"I am… upset, Abigail." He informed her, his voice low and stern. He watched as she opened her mouth and raised up a finger, gesturing for silence. "I need a minute." Taker had to sort out why he was angry, deal with it and they could continue from there. "Why not just tell me outright?" He guessed that was his problem. She must have known she would be safe here.

"B-Because I thought you'd…kick me out of Wonderful. I didn't think you'd believe me, much less anyone else. But they're not the ones I'm worried about anyway. I didn't know you from a hole in the ground, I didn't know what kind of man you were, and I had to be able to trust you first." Abigail didn't blame him for being upset, wiping her tears away and grabbed her clothes, beginning to pull them back on. "I don't trust men easily…and you can reach your own conclusions on why." Sighing, she didn't care if her clothes were still damp and sank down on the opposite side of the fire, trying to warm herself up again. All she felt was bitter cold. "I'm not here for me. And I will tell you anything you wish to know about Bray Wyatt. I know him inside and out…I know what he's planning to do, and I will tell you why he sent me to Wonderful in the first place undercover. That was my way out, when he offered me the chance to go, I took it and eventually, he will come for me. He will want me back, so we need to strike him first if you're going to help me and my people." That meant taking the fight to the DOV directly and going to the castle to do it, so Wonderful was out of harm's way.

Taker stared at her, considering her, and he couldn't lie… the Queen Mother or whatever the hell she was to Wyatt… they had known Wyatt kept a consort, a private woman, but her… Abigail? "How do you know Wyatt?" He asked, getting up to add more wood to the fire, the anger fading as pragmatism started kicking in. "What is your connection to him?" Because the more they knew about the colossal bag of dicks, the better. It did cross his mind she would be great bait. He would sit on that one for a while.

Abigail expected that question next and was prepared for it, or so she thought, the memories flowing through her not necessarily good. "When I met Bray at age 10 in the foster home, he was the first person I spoke to in 5 years. We instantly had a connection and…because I talked to him and nobody else, the people at the foster home that was supposed to take care of us thought he was the devil. They whipped him every day and night, kept him in the attic and refused to tend to his wounds, so I did it for him. After 6 years of the abuse, Bray couldn't take it anymore and we snuck out at age 16. Bray hated religion and vowed to…start up his own. H-He promised me…he promised me nobody would be harmed. He promised me that it would be a religion that everybody would believe in and trust and love. But as time went on and he started building the DOV, and doing all the horrible things he did, such as breeding women, I saw the monster he became. He dubbed me the Queen Mother, but kept me away from the women, from everyone, isolated me to where I only could rely on him. And he told me…that when the time was right, he would…breed with me. He actually used those words. He said once he could make the world completely safe for me, to where I would never have to worry about a single thing again and he had a strong enough army to take care of us, he would breed with me and make an heir. That was my breaking point. I REFUSE to be bred like some fucking animal the way those women are. And the worst part of all this is…he has a sorcerer, Undertaker. The only sorcerer in Vesperia. His name is Malcolm and…he was captured by the DOV and forced to help Bray figure out a way to make the babies that are born grow faster to build his army. They injected the mothers with some kind of serum, directly in the womb, and when the babies are born, within a year's time, they are full-grown men and women. At age one, the grown women are forced to breed, and the new men are the ones that do it. I don't know what kind of serum it is, but…the women have been birthing more girls than boys. He's slaughtered women who have had 3 consecutive girls and sometimes even kills the babies themselves." Now she was crying, the horrors she'd been forced to see almost too much for her to take. "He's not the same Bray I once knew. He's someone I don't even recognize anymore, and he needs to be stopped, even if that means putting a bullet in his head. I'd rather him die instead of people dealing with his tyranny and horrible so-called religion." Sniffling, Abigail had to take several deep breaths and took the bottled water he handed to her, taking a long swig of it. "That's why he sent me to Wonderful. He wants to use something called Mythril to enhance the serum to make it to where the women have boys instead of girls. He heard that Wonderful has a supply of it from Malcolm and…they also know about your disguises. Malcolm told Bray everything he knew, and they kept me in the dark about most of it, regarding your…powers."

All he could do was stare at her, his mouth slightly ajar. They had known magic had to be involved. There was just no way Wyatt had bred that number of soldiers and then waited for them to grow up. It just wasn't happening. Forcing women to breed for the sake of soldiers… and all this had stemmed from an abusive religion. Taker felt like laughing and crying all at the same time.

"Mythril." It made sense why she was here, why she had come to Wonderful. "You were to find it and report back." He wasn't about to tell her anything about his powers, not just yet. There was still that layer of caution that had come down. He had heard the name Malcolm a couple times fall from her lips, frowning. How many magic users were there? He knew it was rare, a genetic anomaly.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Yes. He said he didn't trust anyone else to get the intel for the Mythril and…your powers. I knew it was my chance to escape the castle, to get help for all of us, so I accepted the task. He didn't know my true intentions, I made sure of it, but…Undertaker, he's going to come for me." Now her eyes rose to meet his, fear, and uncertainty swirling through them. "That's why you have to strike him first." Now her voice had taken on a darker tone as Abigail got to her feet, letting the fire's warmth wash over her. "I know all of his weaknesses, I know how he thinks and I know all the secret passages inside and out of the castle. I can get you and your men in and you can take them all out. If this happens at Wonderful, if Bray comes for me…he won't stop until he has me unless he's dead. He's…obsessed with me and the fact he hasn't bred with me yet…it just makes him even more dangerous. I want nothing to do with him or the DOV. I don't want to be a Queen Mother of anyone. I don't want to rule over an entire world with a cruel monster like him! A monster who allows a barely one-year-old girl to be raped, after her tongue is ripped out, all to teach his sorcerer a lesson! I'd rather be dead than ever go back to him."

That info of hers would prove useful, though he didn't see them attacking straight away. However, the knowledge, that Wyatt was likely to come for her, made him uneasy because Wonderful was only impenetrable when he was within its walls. Taker wasn't within the walls right now; he didn't like that, especially after hearing what she had just said.

"He did what?" He asked finally, listening as she repeated about the sorcerer, Malcolm, frowning. That was just barbaric. "When is he likely to come, do you know?" Taker would eventually discuss more about Malcolm with her, but for now… that would have to sit on the back burner. He needed to know if there was an immediate danger to Wonderful.

"It's only been a month and I told him I would need a couple of months to get the intel and whatnot. I told him I'd have to get close to the leader, which is you, in order to learn about your powers. Those were the two things he wanted, so I'm thinking in 3 months and he hasn't heard from me, he'll come for me." Abigail had 2 months…2 months to prepare, train, and get ready to take Bray down, refusing to let anyone else get hurt. "What sickens me is he claims this is all for me. I never wanted this. I never wanted ANY of this! I never asked him to torture women and force them to breed for the sake of building an army! I never asked for people to lose their homes, to be ripped away from their families, and be treated like animals! I just wanted to live peacefully without conflict, but his hatred for that foster home, and religion in general, drove him and warped him into a monster. And yet, he claims it's all for me." Shaking her head sadly, Abigail jumped when a loud BOOM echoed outside and knew the storm had grown slightly stronger outside. "Their blood…is on my hands…everyone that's been killed, all the babies that have been…enhanced, it's all because of me…"

Would Bray have done all of this, created the DOV, if she never existed? Sighing, Taker gestured for her to come over to him, guiding her down until she was settled between his outstretched legs. The floor was hard, but warm now, and he rubbed her arms with his hands, feeling the goosebumps erupting under his palms. "Don't blame yourself, Abigail." He said gently but firmly. "You are his EXCUSE, not his reason." At her confused look, he sighed. "It sounds like what happened to him… warped him." Obviously, Taker would bet money that there had been something wrong with Wyatt in the head, to begin with. Something that had been pushed out by what he had suffered. "He's not doing this for you, darlin', you're not his reason. You're just the excuse he uses to justify it."

Any man who could do what Wyatt had done didn't need a reason, besides the fact that he had suffered. However, if he was in love, or whatever he felt for Abigail, or if he needed a way to help him sleep at night, she was his justification. Either way, it was wrong and it would stop.

"You're our last hope, Undertaker. You're the only one who can stop him…and I don't care what happens to me." Abigail was willing to accept the consequences of Bray's actions, to be executed, if that's what this man wanted to do. "Use me however you see fit against him. Just please end the destruction, end the suffering, and destroy the DOV. Save Vesperia."

This wasn't about her, it was about the people trapped and tortured in the DOV and saving their world from the DOV. Taker's hands continued rubbing her arms, trying to warm her back up, but all Abigail could do was cry, covering her face with her hands as shame and guilt coursed through her. She may have been Bray's justification, but she did nothing to stop the torturing and breeding from happening either. This was all she could do, and it was pathetic. Her entire body screamed out guilt; Taker knew how that went because he had suffered his fair share in his younger years, after his brother died.

"Abbie…"

He had let her cry for a good spell and now gripped her chin, bringing her face up to meet his. The fact that she had offered to be used for whatever he saw fit told him this woman was way too used to a life hanging on a precarious thread, of having to submit to survive. That was not how it was meant to be. Not all men were created equal, and that was a fact, but all people should still be treated equally with respect.

"You are the bravest woman I've ever met." He informed her honestly, and it was true. Taking this chance, this risk, and banking it on him and his, took courage.

"I'm sorry I lied to you, Taker. I wasn't trying to deceive you or anyone, but…I had to protect myself and see if you treated your people differently than Bray or if you were just another monster. I saw on day 2 that wasn't the case at all. I was scared…and I was a fool because I've wasted a month. Every day, every hour, every minute, every second is precious right now and could be used to devise a plan to bring the DOV and Bray down." Abigail couldn't believe he was being this gentle with her when he should've been raging at her for being a deceitful liar. It just proved to her how different he was from Bray, from the DOV, in general. "And I'm not brave. I'm merely doing what needs to be done in order to stop the DOV…" She was far from brave – if anyone was brave, it was the man she was currently being consoled by.

"Are you scared shit less, Abbie?" At her nod, he hid a smile. "And knowing what you were about to do, that makes you feel like throwing up and running?" Another nod. "And you still did it anyway?" Yet another nod. "Darlin', nobody ever said being brave was easy because it's not. Easier roads are easy for a reason." Nothing worth doing was ever easy. "You're brave, it took guts to do what you've done, don't you forget it."

They'd sort out all of this when they got back to Wonderful. Wait until she had to repeat this in front of the crew. Because Taker wasn't just a one-man show, his men needed to know. He wanted input on how they'd take advantage.

"W-Why are you being so nice to me?" Abigail didn't understand it and it made her feel…cautious and more scared than ever. "I mean, I know we kissed and we feel something for each other, but I just told you I've been lying to you and everyone in Wonderful for a month…and you're calling me brave. I just don't understand…" If this was Bray, he would've beheaded her by now or seriously punished her, shuddering at either possibility happening. "Y-You should be yelling at me and tying me up and punish me and…and why the hell are you laughing at me?!" This man was out of his mind! He was LAUGHING at her, not comprehending what she could've said to set him off. "You make no damn sense!"

"Compared to what you're used to, darlin', probably not." He agreed, wiping tears out of his eyes as he watched her get up to start pacing again. Then raised his closed fist, slowly dragging it. She came with the motions, until she was right back down again in front of him. "That right there is the most you'll get from me, now sit still and take some deep breaths, Abbie." Taker watched her, green eyes thoughtful. "I'm not Wyatt and I don't do things the way the DOV does. You haven't learned that by now?"

"To be honest, I'm still trying to get used to it." Abigail murmured softly, taking another deep breath and then another, closing her eyes as she did.

Taker gently pulled her back until her head was against his chest, his hand rubbing her arm up and down soothingly to try to calm her further. He was right; he was nothing like Bray. He was kind, compassionate and would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need, even someone like her. He was still technically naked through the clothes illusion, but Abigail didn't care at the moment and soaked in his warmth as much as she could.

"It wasn't that…I didn't want to have sex with you earlier, you know." Abigail spoke after a long stretch of silence fell between them, the crackling of the fire being the only sound besides their breathing. "I just…didn't want to take that step until you knew the truth about me and why I came to Wonderful. Until you knew the real me." Now he did, and the ball was in his court.

"You didn't want to go to bed with me carrying a bunch of lies, I get that." Not to mention, she would be giving him her virginity, not that Taker was exactly as eager to be diving into all that at the moment, not like he had been earlier. He could see why she wouldn't want to go into that situation with all those secrets. "You don't trust me all the way yet, do you?" He was pretty sure she didn't, not if she was panicking about his lack of a brute reaction.

Looking up into his eyes, Abigail reached up to caress his face tenderly and cracked a hesitant smile. "No, I do trust you. I wouldn't have told you everything and confessed if I didn't. I just…I'm not used to being treated this way, like an equal. Bray never hurt me, but…he didn't treat me very well either. Constantly telling me not to do this or that, keeping me isolated to where only it was him surrounding me and nobody else. He…executed several of his men for talking to me." She shuddered at the memory of watching one of the soldier's heads decapitated and swallowed hard. "My trust for him died a long time ago, and it's hard for me to trust these days, but with you, it was surprisingly easy. Maybe it's because I've been lonely for so long, with only Bray, I…I put my own hope and faith in believing you were going to help me and the people suffering. I put my hope and faith in you, period."

"Betting all your chips on me, huh?" She didn't get that, it was a gambling joke, sort of. So much had been lost to them and she had been a kid, a little girl when the wars began. "Myself, and the rest of Wonderful, won't let you down, darlin'." Hell, it wasn't even just her; there was a whole world out there depending on them. She had just given them the keys to the kingdom so to speak.

She believed him when he said that. He wouldn't let Vesperia down, which included her. "I won't let you or Wonderful down either, Undertaker. I promise."

Then, Abigail took a chance and softly brushed her lips against his, knowing they would have to get to know each other better before anything besides kissing, touching and cuddling happened. It would though. Unlike Bray, she wouldn't be 'saved' for breeding at the 'right time'.

"T-That wasn't out of line, was it?" She felt stupid for asking and lowered her eyes, letting out a shaky breath.

"All things considered? No." He laughed, wrapping his strong arms around her and pulled her flush against him, knowing she could feel his erection prodding at her again. Their clothes might've been dry by now… maybe. "Darlin', up…" With the way the storm was raging on out there, they were going to have to bunker down for the night and he wasn't planning on sleeping on a marble floor. "Let's… look around for shit, something relatively soft to lay down on." Hell, she could use his shirt as a blanket, she was tiny.

Abigail followed his instructions and started tearing the curtains from the windows, which were quite heavy and surprisingly useful. Mark had managed to find some cushions from an old sitting chair near the back of the library, so they used those for pillows. He added more wood to the fire to keep them warm, after they spread the curtains down on the floor to make a palette of sorts. Abigail slipped her jeans off, since they were still somewhat damp, but luckily her top was dry along with her bra. Panties were somewhat damp, but they were doable to sleep in.

"This is another first for me. I've never…slept with a man in bed before."

Bray had always gone back to his chambers once she fell asleep, after one of their make-out sessions, or so he would think. Abigail wound up crying herself to sleep almost every night in the castle. With Taker, she knew it would be different and slid under the curtain blanket to get comfortable while he finished stoking the fire. His jeans were still a bit on the damp side and he wasn't chafing his balls for her comfort. Not happening. Besides that, Taker preferred to sleep in the nude anyway. He did, for the sake of false modesty and her delicate sensibilities, keep up the illusion as he crouched down by the fire, extending his hands. Taker hadn't slept outside of Wonderful in years and he wasn't overly keen on it now, not after what she had told him.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The following morning, Abigail woke up to a surprise as beams of light shone through the windows of the library. The surprise being Taker spooned up against her completely naked. He had tried to keep up the illusion, but once he'd fallen asleep, it had disappeared and now it was just him against her with his nose buried in her hair. She smiled, enjoying being pressed against him like this and felt his arm tighten around her when she shifted slightly. Abigail turned in his arm to face him, caressing his face tenderly with her fingers and etching him in her memory. What would happen once they returned to Wonderful? She didn't want to think about that right now and soaked in as much of this as she could, softly kissing him.

Her kisses didn't wake him up, not right away. He hadn't slept this heavily in years. There was a warm, pliable body curled into his and one massive, bare thigh moved, insinuating itself between her legs as he arched into her. Taker began responding to her kisses, growling softly as he moved to roll her onto her back, his hazy eyes opening to meet hers. She had a hell of a way waking a man up and Taker kissed her soundly, feeling her hands caressing the sides of his face, then frowned, pulling away. She was tracing the faint burn scars. Burn scars. However, from the way Abigail was studying him, he realized they didn't bother her. Hell, they probably weren't all that bad. It had been well over a decade, longer than that since the fire… most of the scars on his body were faded as well or covered with tattoos.

The scars didn't bother her at all. They were part of him and Abigail knew this was his true form, not another disguise. Taker was a beautiful man, inside and out, and besides that, Abigail had some scars of her own. One across her lower back was from the foster home, the only punishment she'd ever received…and it hadn't been pleasant. Bray had been the one to doctor her up…and it was also the night they had decided to escape, which was after she healed. He didn't want her traveling wounded. Everyone had scars, both visible and inside, of some kind they tried hiding from the world. Amy had caught a glimpse of it during one of their training sessions, but apparently, Taker hadn't noticed. It was barely visible after all these years, much like the ones on his face. She returned the kiss with equal vigor, fire, passion and opened her mouth for him to taste her, moaning softly. Her fingers buried in his hair as the kiss grew more heated, neither able to pull away or break it first and honestly, Abigail didn't want to.

There was no way Taker could break this kiss. The only way it was happening was when he HAD to breathe, and he could hold his breath for quite a while. Reaching down, he pulled her leg up to rest against his hip, palming her smooth skin as he slowly moved against her, letting his erection glide up and down her panty covered slit. He could feel heat, and the way her hips were starting to rock, he gathered she was enjoying the new sensations.

She more than enjoyed, she craved and knew all she had to do was remove her panties to make this official. What better place or way to lose her virginity than to this man, in a library, with just the two of them? Now may have been the only time for them to do this before all hell came raining down on them in the form of the DOV. It was obvious he wanted her, and she wanted him, badly, the fire inside of her begging to be quenched.

"Take me…" She mumbled against his lips, her voice quaking from the intensity of their making out. "Here and now, Taker, please…" It was said against his lips with conviction, not an ounce of worry or hesitation in her tone, just pure lust and need.

Admittedly, there were warning bells going off in his head. She had just dropped the mother of all bombshells on him. Abigail had been Bray Wyatt's childhood friend, and for all intents and purposes, was the intended Queen of whatever the hell the psychopath was trying to create. And she was lying beneath him, of all people, after spilling what amounted to state secrets. If ever there was a perfect time to ambush Wonderful, now would be it and he groaned, brushing his lips against hers. Did Taker trust her enough to risk the lives of all those people?

It was him hesitating now, she could feel it and tried not to feel rejected because, honestly, they had to get back to Wonderful. She had to face the music with everyone, tell the truth and they had to start coming up with a plan to take down the DOV for good. Abigail pulled back to stare into his eyes, knowing he didn't fully trust her the way she did him. Again, for good reason. She had lied to him about who she truly was. It wasn't rejection because Taker did want her, but they really had to get back to Wonderful, just in case Bray decided to strike. She'd asked him for a couple of months, but Abigail also knew how impatient he could be. Hell, Bray was unpredictable these days, she didn't know him from a hole in the ground anymore.

"Ohhhhh you vixen," Taker growled, catching her bottom lip between his teeth and nipped gently before reluctantly pushing himself away from her. "We have to get back." He could practically feel the rejection radiating from Abigail and bent down to help her climb to her feet, wrapping an arm around her waist to draw her against him. "We WILL finish this, Abbie." He vowed, but… he had to get back. If something happened to Wonderful in his absence, because he was busy getting his rocks off, he couldn't live with himself.

Gliding the pad of her thumb across his lips, Abigail kissed him one last time and nodded, letting him know she understood. "We'd better." She murmured against his lips, seeing all the promises swirling through his eyes and pulled away to slip back into her jeans, giving them some space.

Her lips were swollen, and her braid had hair pulled out in all different directions. Abigail pulled the hairband out and unraveled her hair before pulling out a brush from her bag, glad she'd thought to bring it with. Once the knots were out, she redid the braid just as Taker finished getting ready. Together, they headed out with their knapsacks in hand and jumped on the bike, with her in front, speeding back to Wonderful.

She had brought a hairbrush… for what was meant to originally be a few hours at max outing… women. Taker had learned a long time ago not to question some of the insane things they did. He liked his balls where they were. Taking the direct route today, once they were clear of the trees that had shielded them, he was in 'Chet' form, just in case. Today was a lot different from last night and he had gotten more knowledge then he had bargained for. He just prayed there was time to put it to use.

When they rolled in just a little less than 2 hours later, Abigail breathed a sigh of relief that Wonderful was just as they'd left it. The guys waved to 'Chet' as he rolled inside through the gates and Abigail could feel Taker relax against her physically. He'd been worried the entire ride back and there was nothing she could do to ease his mind. He parked the bike and dismounted, helping her off next by the hand.

"Well, well, took ya long enough to get back here, boss."

"Did ya guys get caught up in that hellacious storm?"

Abigail let Taker do the talking, explaining to his men what happened and why he hadn't come back until this morning, wondering when he wanted to let the cat out of the bag about her true identity. He would not be letting any 'cats' out of any bag just yet. It seemed like everyone in Wonderful had congregated to welcome them back and that was several hundred people.

"I want the council in my tower tonight." He informed Steve in a whisper, feeling Steve's bald head nodding before giving his attention back over to the people.

"Jesus, we thought you guys might've got washed away or something by the river," Stephanie said when she was able to get close enough to Abigail. "We had some minor flooding, but it's already sinking. Ground was thirsty." The town's water supply had been refilled. Jeff and Matt would make sure the purifier was up and running and they'd be set. Rain and the storms had been a blessing.

"No, we just bunkered down and waited the storm out. It was pretty bad, but luckily the building we were in didn't come crashing down." Abigail was thankful everybody was fine and Wonderful hadn't suffered while they were gone. "Do you need help getting breakfast around?"

"Aren't you tired from your trip?" Stephanie noticed something was different about Abigail, unable to put her finger on it. "We already had breakfast, actually, but there's plenty left over for you and the boss."

Abigail was too nervous to eat and shook her head, cracking the barest hint of a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "No, I'm fine. He's probably starving though. I'm gonna go workout for a bit unless you need me to do something in the common house." Working out would get her mind off what she'd told Taker, at least for a little while.

"Just be back by noon, so we can start lunch…" Stephanie watched her walk away and frowned, rubbing her protruding belly while Taker finished talking to Steve. "Hey boss, come get something to eat." That was her code for she wanted to talk to him privately.

Eventually, Stephanie was going to have to start using a different code. That was just an open invitation for people to follow him and he shot her an exasperated look. "Darlin', you really-" He groaned when she gave him a look, eyeing her stomach and then threw his hands up into the air. "Women…"

"Sorry folks, boss wants to eat solo." Stephanie began shooing people out of the common house and closed the doors once it was just them. "Get your own damn breakfast, Taker. I just put the last of it away."

"Rude much, my pregnant beauty?" He laughed, ducking a cup that came flying his way and headed for the kitchen to raid what was left, Stephanie right behind him. "What do you want, Steph?"

"Oh, you know what I want, so why do you even bother asking? Something happened between you and Abbie and I wanna know what it is." Stephanie never beat around the bush and her bluntness had gotten worse the further she progressed into her pregnancy. "She's not hungry, she looks nervous as hell and she went to work out as a distraction. I'm not stupid, I can read people well, including you, even with your disguises. I also know she's hiding something, Steve does too, so did she finally come clean about what's really going on?" While he fixed his plate, his eyes had lowered, and Stephanie could see the hesitation written all over his face. "Boss, what happened? Is it really that bad? Is…Wonderful in trouble?"

"Not as long as I'm here, it's not." He said after a moment, looking up at her, his green eyes thoughtful. "Darlin', you'll just have to wait until tonight along with the others. I'm not doing this multiple times and I'm tired." Which was weird because he had actually slept pretty well, but… marble floor. When she gave him a look, he raised a hand. "Stephanie, I said I'd talk to you about it tonight with everyone there." Everyone being the people who gave him counsel, advice, and helped in the planning. "And don't you go badgering Abbie either," His eyes narrowed at her. "You hold your horses, or I'll have your activities restricted throughout your pregnancy." Because Stephanie was naturally a bossy, pushy woman, pregnancy seemed to be making it worse. "I'm not kidding, darlin'. You'll wait."

Sighing, Stephanie could only nod and decided to tell him what happened while he was gone. "We got a newcomer while you were gone…" She informed him quietly, setting a mug of coffee in front of him and finally sat down, swallowing hard. "She's a refuge from the DOV, Taker…and they hurt her…badly." Tears swelled in her eyes at the memory of the poor girl that collapsed outside of the gates of Wonderful the previous night. With a dirty, tear-streaked face, Steve had been the one to bring her inside and she refused to speak to anyone. "She's sleeping right now in the medical wing, but when she wakes up, I'll introduce you to her. Her name is Susan."

"And why," He asked sternly. "Was this not the first thing you said to me?" Nosy women. Priorities were all wrong. "Where is she now?"

"Asleep, in the medical wing off the back tower."

"And who is the unfortunate soul who is tending to her?" They had no actual doctors, just different people with varying degrees of medical experience, which meant a lot of trial and error.

"Melina is right now. She had some… other damage. Jeff got the x-ray machine to work, he thinks she was given a forced um… hysterectomy."

That made no sense, at all. Women who couldn't breed were shot, not… rendered sterile. Not unless it wasn't the woman being punished. Melina had heard the Undertaker returned from his journey and wasn't surprised to see him come to the medical wing. She had sterile gloves on and an apron, one of the few in Wonderful to have a stomach for this kind of horrific scene.

"She'll survive, but it's going to take time, Undertaker. There was no…damage done to her insides with the hysterectomy, as I'm sure Stephanie has already told you. She's…a little over one-year-old, which I don't believe, but that's what she claims." It didn't make sense to her at all, but then again, this was a refuge from the DOV. "Her name is Susan."

She stepped aside when he came forward to look down at the girl, who looked to be around 18-19 years of age, but in all reality, she was only a little over one. Melina watched as the Undertaker bent down over the cot, bracing his hands on either side of the unconscious girl's head. It was… weird, disconcerting, to realize he was running his nose against her face, inhaling. He was sniffing her and moved lower, finally pulling away.

"She reeks of magic." He said finally, his nose wrinkling. "We've known for a while the DOV has SOMETHING to breed these soldiers as fast as they do…"

"Magic…so are you saying her hysterectomy was done…magically?"

How was that even possible? Granted, there had been rumors of Bray Wyatt and the DOV having a sorcerer of some kind. To her knowledge, however, that had been false. Perhaps not…and if that was the case, Undertaker wasn't the only one who had magic on his side in Vesperia. That was a very troubling, frightening thought.

"I-I don't even know what to say…" Truthfully, Melina was a little unnerved by magic and looked at Susan, wondering if she was also magical. "That would explain why there's no stitches or anything inside of her, according to the x-ray." She handed the shots over to Taker for him to look at.

"I didn't say that." He growled, shooting her a dark look, about through with women today. They either weren't sharing pertinent information first, due to being nosy, or they were assuming. "Go get Abigail, bring her to me." He ordered, taking the images from her and waved a hand dismissively. This woman reeked of magic in a different way, not this… magical hysterectomy. And the fact that someone could do that defied all magic laws and theories. No, her blood was infected with magic, it was part of her DNA. He closed his eyes. These children went from infant to toddler to full adult within the course of a year. His eyes opened. And Abbie had come for Mythril on Bray Wyatt's orders.

"Potions…" Something he didn't bother with because he'd never been properly trained.

What the hell did Abigail have to do with this? Melina didn't question it and went to do as the boss demanded.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"Taker wants to see you immediately. He's in the medical wing. You should…prepare yourself." That was all Melina said, before taking off to check on a few other patients that were at home resting, instead of in the medical wing.

Raising a slow brow, Abigail racked the bar and stood up from the bench, wiping sweat from her neck and face with a towel. Why would Taker want to see her in the medical wing? Shrugging, she draped the towel around her neck and headed out of the workout room, trying to remember where exactly the medical wing was. It took a bit, but she found it and walked inside, seeing Taker looming over a body.

"You wanted to see me, Undertaker?" His huge body was blocking the one on the table, so she couldn't see who it was right away.

He was still staring down at the woman, finally stepping away to reveal her to Abigail. The surprised gasp and she said the woman's name, she knew this woman. "She stumbled in here while we were gone, Abbie." He informed her in a monotone voice, trying not to think of just how damn convenient that was. Abigail told him about why she was really in Wonderful and then, while he was outside of its walls, another person from the DOV wandered in. He did not like these feelings of doubt, not used to them. "Who is she?"

Flashbacks of that horrific day pulsed through Abigail as she covered her mouth with her hand, tears swelling in her eyes. This poor girl's tongue had been removed by force and then she was raped afterwards, nearly choking to death on her own blood. Abigail shook herself mentally, swallowing hard at Taker staring down at her hardening and wondered how the hell Susan managed to escape the castle. Had Malcolm helped her?

"T-This is Malcolm's granddaughter, Susan. The sorcerer I told you about." She spoke quietly, sounding haunted and slid fingers through her hair when Taker demanded her to elaborate. "Her mother, Malcolm's daughter, Lily, was…killed shortly after Susan was born. If she says she's one years old, she is. Lily was injected with the serum I told you about that makes the babies grow at an astronomical rate. The serum Bray wants to enhance to ensure the women breed boys instead of girls by using Mythril. She…she shouldn't be able to talk to anyone because…her tongue was cut out…"

"Lily?" He echoed, frowning and brought his hands up, pressing his forehead against his palms. Malcolm, a sorcerer, that was something he could overlook as a very rare coincidence. "Curly brown hair and green eyes?" When Abigail muttered a yes, he shook his head. "Leave us, Abbie." He ordered, his voice dropping. "Please…"

Lily had been a baby, well, not a literal baby, but the youngest of the three. She had two older brothers. When things had started going south… she had been taken away for safe-keeping. Malcolm was supposed to come back for them, but they had been boys and were supposedly a lot safer than their sister. Malcolm had never come back. Then the fire happened…

Knowing better than to push him right now, Abigail simply nodded and walked out of the medical wing, no longer in the mood to work out and train. She walked around Wonderful, trying to keep the tears in her eyes and failed, a few sliding down her cheeks. Finding a corner of the town, in a small alley, Abigail pressed her back against the building and slid down it, burying her face in her hands crying.

She would never, ever forget that day as long as she lived, or when she went to Bray telling him what Luke had done to Susan. He hadn't shown an OUNCE of remorse and simply said a message had to be sent, proving to her further the monster he had become. Had Malcolm somehow gotten her out of the castle? And yet, Bray was doing all of this 'for her'. No, Taker was right. He was using her as an excuse to justify his actions and she was done with it, vowing to make him pay for everything he'd done since the day the DOV had been created.

"Taker?"

Amy was probably the only person who could get away with being near him right now and that was only due to the fact that they had a bond. He had saved her early on, brought her with him, and she had been loyal ever since. Steve may have been his right-hand man and Stephanie his left-hand woman, but Amy was… just another wandering soul with damage that he had bonded with. "Do you trust her?"

"Abigail?" Amy considered it. "Yeah, I do. I think she's hiding something from us, but I don't think it's necessarily something that's… you know, going to put us in danger."

He nodded, reaching back to pat her hand as she had put it on his shoulder. "Go let Steve know I want outside patrols 5 miles from the wall and sweep in. If people are escaping the DOV, I want to know why." And HOW. There was no way this woman had been given a chance like Abigail had. Not unless the sorcerer had intervened. "And I want them to be prepared for an ambush." His woman gone and another woman escaping, he'd bet that would spur Wyatt into doing something irrational.

"Will do." Amy placed a hand on his arm, his eyes turning to meet hers and she could see the tears in them. "I'm here if you need to talk. About anything." She wanted to make sure he understood that before walking out to go let Steve know what Taker wanted done.

The only reason Susan had escaped was because Bray thought she was dead. Malcolm had given her a potion that temporarily stopped her heart – they ruled it suicide and tossed her body with the others. Once enough bodies piled up, they burned them all at once instead of one at a time. It cut back on the stench of burnt human flesh. Malcolm had gone out, taken his granddaughter off the pile and brought her to his chambers to wait for her to awaken.

While asleep – dead – he performed a magical hysterectomy on her, not taking any chances she was pregnant with Luke Harper's demon spawn. Then, he waited for her to wake up and sent her on her way, ordering her to go straight to Wonderful…where he knew Abigail was. He knew she would care for Susan and had to take the risk, refusing to subject her to the cruelties of the DOV. As far as Bray and anyone in the DOV was concerned, Susan was nothing more than a corpse.

Her name was Susan and she resembled his mother, her grandmother… quite a bit. This was his niece and she wasn't all that much younger than him, really. Only a decade in physical appearance, which made the niece bit impossible since Lily hadn't been much younger than Glen. Magic. That was why he smelled it IN her instead of ON her. She had been, her growth, accelerated with magic. Sighing, Taker reached out to slowly take her hand, watching as she stirred but didn't waken.

"How much did you give her?"

"She'll sleep until morning." Jeff said, having been summoned when Susan hadn't woken up by early evening. "She was in a state of shock, Taker. I'm honestly surprised she managed to make it here. Whatever she was running from, whatever happened, it was… traumatizing."

"I want someone with her around the clock, when she does wake up, send word immediately." As much as he wanted to stay, he had business to attend too. He had learned early on one couldn't be put before the many. It ended badly.

* * *

As promised, Abigail walked into the common house a little before noon and began her task of cooking, helping Stephanie, Trish and Amy. The redhead kept glancing at her and she ignored it, trying to focus on what she was doing. Susan would recognize her, no doubt, whenever she woke up. Abigail had a feeling she wouldn't be seeing much of Undertaker, especially after the meeting tonight, where everything would be revealed. Once lunch was done and served, the cleaning done, Abigail ate her lunch since she skipped breakfast and went upstairs to lay down in her bed. She was not feeling good at all and didn't want to talk to anyone, hoping this nightmare ended soon.

"Amy, go get Abbie, we have to start dinner."

It was nearing 4 PM, she'd been sleeping for the past 3 hours and they really needed her help. She wanted to tell Stephanie to leave Abigail alone, but also didn't want to flare the woman's pregnancy hormones up, or her temper. Obeying, Amy climbed the ladder to the upper floor and walked over to where Abigail slept, gently shaking her awake.

"Hey sweetie, I'm sorry, but it's time to get dinner started…" The red-rimmed, swollen eyes staring back at her broke Amy's heart. It was obvious something tormented Abigail and had since she came to Wonderful. Did she know who the new girl was? If that was the case…

"Okay, give me a few minutes to clean myself up, and then I'll be down." Abigail murmured quietly, slowly sitting up in bed and rubbed her eyes before heading to the bathroom to wash her face. She looked in the mirror and groaned, hoping the swelling of her eyes went down a little. Crying herself to sleep was not a smart idea. "Fuck." Tossing the towel to the side, Abigail walked out to head downstairs to help with dinner.

Stephanie took one look at Abbie and steeled herself. She had already been told not to be nosy and not ask questions, so… she bit her lip at the questions she did want to ask and pushed aside the desire to send Abigail back to bed. The girl looked ragged. But everyone else was pitching in as usual, regardless of their issues, nobody got slack. Abigail really did look like crap though and she sighed.

"Want a cup of cocoa?" She offered with a gentle smile.

Abigail cracked a small smile back at her and nodded, not wanting to be rude to the woman who had done so much for her. "Thanks, that'd be great." She watched Stephanie pour her a mug of it and took a slow sip, the warmth doing nothing to soothe her, but she smiled anyway. "Before we get busy with dinner, I just wanted to say thank you. You've helped me out a lot and I'll never forget it."

Stephanie blinked, not expecting that and didn't know how to respond, especially since she didn't trust Abigail fully. "Okay…"

Taking another sip, Abigail set her mug down and began getting to work on dinner, having pulled her hair up on top of her head in a messy bun to keep out of the food. She snapped her gloves on, like always, and began kneading the dough Stephanie had left out to rise for a few hours.

She kind of felt like she was being set up or something, or maybe Abigail was trying to weasel herself into remaining in Stephanie's good graces. Her blue eyes narrowed thoughtfully, wondering just what DID happen between Abigail and the Undertaker while they were out for the night.

"Need help?"

She jumped. "WEAR BELLS, TAKER!"

"Do you want to know how you'll look at 9 months?" He asked, his eyes flashing blue for a moment.

* * *

"_Find Abigail, find her and she'll take care of you. I'm sorry I can't go with you, sweetheart." Malcolm hugged his granddaughter close, seeing the tears in her eyes along with the confusion. She didn't understand what was going on or what happened to her, but there was no time to explain. "I fixed your mouth, so your tongue is back." He didn't bother mentioning the hysterectomy. "I love you, Suzie. Now run. Get out of here and head to Wonderful. When you make it there, don't trust anyone and find Abigail. She's there – the Queen Mother and she will take care of you. Now GO!"_

Her eyes snapped open with a startle as Susan slowly looked around the place she lay in, swallowing hard at the sterile smell. It took a few minutes to get her equilibrium on track and to where she could slowly sit up, looking down at the dark blue dress she had on. She could hear her grandfather's voice in her head, reminding her of who she had to find in Wonderful and hoped she'd made it. The last thing she remembered was collapsing outside of the gates of a town, but she didn't know where it was. There were fuzzy flashbacks of a conversation she had with a woman, but…Susan didn't know if that was a dream or not.

"Well hello there, sunshine!" Melina smiled, walking inside, and knew she had to inform Taker of the new girl's awakening. "How are you feeling? Do you remember me? I'm Melina, we spoke earlier…before you passed out again."

"Melina…" Susan tested out her new magically reattached tongue, surprised she could still talk without a problem, and felt her eyes widen. "Melina…"

"Yes, that's right. Let me check your vitals and then…"

Susan shook her head, slowly standing from the bedding and swallowed hard, remembering her grandfather's warning not to trust anyone. "Abigail…I have to find Abigail…do you know if she's here?" She knew better than to call the woman Queen Mother since she was undercover for the DOV currently.

"You know who Abbie is? Abigail Waters?"

Susan nodded, lowering her eyes from Melina and clasped her hands in front of her. "I-I need to find her…"

"O-Okay…we'll find her, but let's get you checked out first…"

* * *

Taker was good at sneaking up on people, which in turn made the girls laugh at Stephanie's squeal. All except Abigail, who was deep in thought kneading the dough with a hint of flour streaked across her cheek. She didn't hear him come in or his voice, though she was in the back while Stephanie remained in the front. Amy and Trish were insistent on it since she'd taken care of breakfast and wanted her to rest her feet, which were really swollen. They actually wanted her to take the night off, but Stephanie was stubborn and refused.

The next person to walk through the door had everyone stop in their tracks, including Undertaker, as Susan looked around before her eyes landed on Stephanie. "I-I'm looking for Abigail Waters. I-I was told I could find her here…" She looked scared to death, but also determined and swallowed hard at the giant staring at her.

"Stephanie, I think we…"

"Abigail!"

All Abigail could do was catch the girl that cried out her name running toward her, eyes wide, and felt her arms wrap tightly around her, feeling her heart break all over again. "Susan…Susan, it's okay…" She soothed, ignoring everyone staring at them and closed her eyes, not believing the girl was actually speaking. How did she regain her tongue?! "Ssshhh…"


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Without a second thought, he brought his hands together in a loud, resounding clap and then parted them slowly, forcing the women apart and everyone else out via one door or the other.

"NOT OKAY, YOU KNOW BETTER!"

"HEY!"

"WHAT THE HELL TAKER?"

Just keeping Abigail and Susan in the room while making the others leave was a chore, he ignored the others. When the doors shut behind the last person, Taker let his arms drop. Probably shouldn't have done that… he had to sit down.

"W-What's going on?!" NOW Susan was really frightened, especially since she couldn't move toward Abigail and vice versa. "A-Abigail?"

What the hell was Taker thinking doing something like that?! The poor girl was scared out of her mind as it was! "It's alright, Susan. Just breathe, okay? This is…Undertaker. He's the leader of Wonderful and…you can trust him."

"W-Why can't I move?"

That was a damn good question because Abigail was wondering the same thing, seeing that abuse of power he inflicted had sucked the energy out of him. "I'm not sure, but everything's gonna be fine. Tell me how you escaped the castle. How did you find this place?" Keeping Susan talking would calm her down and get her mind off the fact they were both frozen besides their mouths.

"P-Papa…he got me out. Told me to look for you in Wonderful and not to trust anyone else. He gave me a map on how to get here, but I don't know where it is." Susan explained, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice and sniffled, tears sliding down her cheeks. "I-I'm scared, Abigail…"

_Damn it, Malcolm_, she thought, not believing the old man had relied on her to take care of his granddaughter and took a deep breath, nodding. "Okay…"

He watched them go back and forth, a black eyebrow slowly rising. When his arms had dropped, so had the magic. They were holding themselves back, that was amusing. Mind over matter, he supposed.

"Abigail, tell me again about her mother." He ordered, his emerald green eyes locked on Susan.

This would be hard for Susan to hear because she hadn't been…developed enough, or out of her baby phase, when Lily was killed. "Lily. Lily Calaway is the daughter of the sorcerer, Malcolm Calaway…and Lily was…"

"My Mom." Susan was afraid to go toward Abigail for fear of this giant using his powers again. "I-I thought Papa was the only one who had magic in Vesperia…"

"Lily was…killed, right after Susan was born because she…had too many girls in a row." Abigail could not believe he was forcing her to say all of this in front of Susan, not when the girl was traumatized enough as it was. "I'm sorry, Susan…"

"It's not your fault, Sister Abigail…"

"Please don't call me that." Now her voice was filled with pain as she shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. "I'm not Sister, Queen or Queen Mother of anything or anyone here. I'm just Abigail and you can call me Abbie, alright?"

"O-Okay, Abbie…Abbie…" Susan tested it out with a small, sheepish smile. "I like that better."

"Me too, kid." Her eyes moved back to Undertaker, who looked thoughtful. "What else do you wish to know about Lily? I'll be honest, Bray kept me away from the women and children a lot, so I don't know a great deal about her…"

"Lily had daughters." He echoed, a faraway look on his face as he stared into the fire. She'd been murdered because of it. "Lily was the youngest of 3 children, she had 2 older brothers." Taker admitted in a quiet timbre. "Glen… and Mark. She was born before the great uprisings and war, but she was only a little girl when it happened… when her father took her away to hide her." He finally looked at Abbie and Susan, mostly Susan. "Even back then, girls were targeted. But in those early years, there was no serum to force the pregnancies to accelerate, or the babies to grow within the span of a year. It was all done… the old-fashioned way." His mouth twisted into a dark, bitter smile.

"Wait a minute, what? You…knew Lily? You knew her brothers? So that means, you know Malcolm, too?" Abigail had to sit down, her head beginning to spin and felt Susan grab her hand, joining her at the table. Lily had been taken away to be hidden, but that hadn't done any good. "Malcolm and Lily were…captured and brought to the castle. Lily was…16, I think, somewhere around that age. When the women turn 16, they are immediately bred with someone in the DOV. It was taking too long, so that's why Bray tracked down the only remaining sorcerer in Vesperia, captured him and has used him ever since to come up with the serum that forced Lily to birth 3 daughters before her death." Her eyes moved to Susan, the last of Lily's bloodline. "Your sisters…"

"Dead." Susan sniffled, squeezing Abigail's hand and didn't bother holding her tears back. "They were killed…when they couldn't produce. That's what Papa told me."

Abigail shut her eyes, afraid of hearing that, but already knew it was the truth. "Heartless bastards…" She hissed out, the anger overtaking the pain over everything Bray had done and caused.

He realized right then and there, their family, their blood, and the magic, it would die with him. Glen was dead. Malcolm wasn't likely to have any more children, given the state of things. Susan was fixed. Lily dead. He had never naturally possessed magic, so Taker couldn't pass it on. He felt both a strange combination of relief and sadness, closing his eyes.

"Abigail, excuse us, please." He ordered somberly. "I wish to speak with Susan, alone."

"N-No, please! I-I don't know him and…"

Abigail pressed a finger to her lips and smiled sadly, looking back at Undertaker, before her eyes locked with Susan again. "You can trust him. If you trust me, which I have no idea why you would, other than Malcolm instructing you to, you can definitely trust him. He won't hurt you. He just wants to talk to you, ask a few questions. If you need me, I'll be just outside, alright?" She spoke in a quiet, soothing voice, squeezing the girl's shoulder.

"O-Okay…" Swallowing hard, Susan watched Abigail walk out of the building and slowly moved her eyes to the giant, keeping her distance in case she had to make a run for it.

Breathing in the fresh now night air, Abigail had a hard time breathing and looked up at the night sky, the stars glittering back at her. Why were they going through this? Why was this happening to these innocent people? Why couldn't Bray see the error of his ways?! Abigail wanted to scream and rage, ripping the hairband out of her hair to let it tumble down her back and over her shoulders, gripping it between her fingers.

Taker watched Susan put distance between them, not overly blaming her. She had come from a place where women weren't even valued as much as cattle. They were simply objectified to be used and then discarded. And then his own magical show of force, which had just been a bad idea all the way around, didn't help matters any with her trepidation.

"You resemble your grandmother very much. Did Malcolm ever tell you that?" He asked conversationally, taking in the curly auburn hair. She was the spitting image of his mother.

Papa had told her that quite a few times. She resembled her mother and grandmother, both of them having the curly auburn hair and green eyes. "Y-Yes…"

Her head tilted slightly, seeing his own green eyes and wondered how he knew her Papa, her family. It was very rude to ask a stranger a personal question like that, not mention he was a man and he was a woman. Women were not allowed to question men and had to do as they were told. Susan was scared, not bothering to hide it and wiped a few more tears that fell from her eyes, not wanting to be punished. She had no idea this place was the polar opposite of the DOV.

"Come sit with me." He requested softly, aware thanks to Abigail just how fucked the women in the DOV had it.

They couldn't disobey, never question. They basically had to sit there and take it, literally. He extended a hand, frowning when she slowly, grudgingly moved towards him. Scooting, he gave her space on the bench, watching her sit down cautiously.

"I told you your mother had two older brothers." She nodded in acknowledgment. "Glen… he died, in a fire." He said slowly, not wanting to delve into that too much because it stirred way too much grief. "And Mark, who survived the fire." Another slow nod. "They had been left behind that day by Malcolm, because boys were safe back then. They were recruited, but they lived. Girls, not so much. So, Malcolm thought the brothers would be safe until he was able to return, except he never did." Now that puzzle piece had been filled for him. Slowly, Taker let his illusion drop, revealing his actual face, which wasn't much different from the 'disguises' he wore on a day-to-day basis, minus the faded burn scars. "Glen died, saving me. And until you came… I never knew what happened to my father, or my sister."

Susan's eyes widened at the face staring back at her, her jaw-dropping. This was Mark? Papa had told her stories about his sons, her Uncles, but never did she think she'd meet either of them. Glen had died in a fire, she knew that, but Papa had been under the impression Mark joined him.

"Y-You're supposed to be dead…" She whispered finally, swallowing hard at the sadness in his eyes that mirrored her own. This was her Uncle…the Undertaker…the leader of Wonderful. "P-Papa told me you and Glen died…he gave me a family history one night, after sneaking me out of my chambers to bring me down to his." She'd been 6 months old at the time. "So…that makes you my Uncle then, right? We're family?"

At his nod, Susan hesitantly reached out to touch the scars on his face, which were very faint and didn't take away from his ruggedly handsome features at all. Even though Papa told her to only trust Abigail, he had no idea who the Undertaker was or else he would've retracted that statement. She was sure of it – family over everyone else, no matter the circumstances.

"W-We have to save Papa…he's in trouble, Mark…"

"We're going to save everyone, Susan." He promised, reaching up to capture her hand in his. Taker had a niece, who physically was too old to be his actual niece. He had missed out on her short life and she'd had a very, very horrible life at that. He was going to tear Bray Wyatt to pieces, with his bare hands and his eyes flashed acid at the thought. It hit him, as he stared into her very familiar, yet unfamiliar, face. He still had family left. His father was still alive. Knowing she was probably going to freak out but unable to help himself anyway, Taker pulled her against him and buried his face in her hair.

Trembling at first, Susan had to fight the urge not to push him away and slowly relaxed, wrapping her arms around his neck to hug him tightly. The big man was shaking against her as well and she had no idea why, still very new to not being struck down for speaking out of turn or…anything, really. It didn't take much for the women in DOV to be abused by the men, no matter how true and good their intentions were.

"Thank you, Mark." She whispered in his ear, sniffling as fresh tears slid down her cheeks, but they weren't tears of sadness. They were full of happiness and relief that she had family beside Papa to rely on.

It seemed like they had sat there for hours, and eventually, Mark pulled away from his niece. Only a year… that was all Susan was, but she was physically so much older. "You will never have to go back to those bastards, Susan." He vowed darkly. "And if I can save Malcolm, I will." However, it wasn't Malcolm as a single entity that was a priority, it was all of them – everyone trapped in the DOV. Though… if they pulled Malcolm from there, he would bet Wyatt's super army stopped growing, providing they didn't have stores of that serum.

"I-I understand, Uncle Mark." Susan smiled somewhat sheepishly at him, the innocence radiating off her due to her age. "I won't be mad if…if you can't save him. But other people are hurting. They need help." He nodded to show he understood what she was saying and hugged him again, this time without hesitation, feeling as though she could trust him. It went against what Papa said, but…they were family.

"COME ON, TAKER, PEOPLE ARE STARVING OUT HERE, HOMIE!"

"Homie?" Susan began laughing, in spite of the situation, and saw her Uncle roll his eyes, her own green orbs sparkling. "You're in trouble, aren't you?" Her tone was full of mirth and life, the fear evaporating into thin air.

"No darlin', I'm usually the trouble."

Taker chuckled, standing up and walked over to open the doors, immediately being swamped as people rushed in for the evening meal. Including Stephanie, who looked ready to scold him. She just gave him a once over, sniffed, and headed towards the kitchen. Because Susan might feel a bit overwhelmed by all the men coming in with the women, he stepped back to offer his silent support, watching as she edged closer to him.

"I AM STAR- Hello." Jeff stopped, blinked, and eyeballed his part-time patient.

"H-Hi…"

Abigail came in next and headed straight for the kitchen to resume cooking, trying to get back into the swing of things. She had no idea the revelation that just took place and was glad Susan seemed to be a tad more comfortable around Taker. The man had the uncanny ability to make anyone calm and soothed around him; she wondered if that was a magical ability or just…him. Popping the rolls in the oven, which was the last batch to go in, Stephanie bustled about along with Trish and Amy. She'd had a very small breakdown, cried, and then proceeded to push it in the back of her mind for the time being. People were going to hate her, even more so now that Susan was here.

Just focus and get it over with, she thought, mentally coaching herself, and proceeded to help with whatever Stephanie needed.

"Jeff, not right now."

"I just had some questions…"

"Jeff, not right now."

Jeff was torn between medical and personal questions, staring at Susan intently, taking in her auburn curls with a smile. "I-"

"Jeff. Not. Now."

"Hardy, help set those damn tables." Melina ordered, coming through with her toddler on her hip, a little boy named after his Daddy.

Ever since Abigail had shocked her out of her grief, she had thrown herself into living with new vigor. She took turns with Jeff, and a few others, manning the medical area. Apparently, she was a great nurse.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Abigail walked out with several baskets of biscuits, setting them on the table in the middle like usual before beginning to make plates. Tonight's menu was greens, meatloaf and mashed potatoes with rolls. While Amy sliced the meatloaf up, Abigail began cutting up plates for the toddlers to eat off of and smiled at Melina, setting a plate down for her and little Davey.

"Thank you."

Nodding, Abigail went to serve other people with plates of food from her tray, finally arriving at the table Undertaker and Susan sat at.

"This looks so good!"

"It is, now eat up. Gotta put some meat on those bones."

She winked at the girl, setting Taker's food in front of him, since he was eating in the common house, for a change, instead of up in his tower. Abigail wanted to ask him if he was alright, but that was a stupid question, so she kept her mouth shut and went back to the kitchen to grab another tray full to hand out.

"Good to see you up, girl." Steve had joined Taker at the table, a bit surprised the man was down here tonight as he usually dined alone and in private. "Your face is showin', boss." He pointed out, a bit more surprised, watching as the look instantly changed.

It occurred to him, then, that he could show Susan what her mother had looked like, what he remembered her looking like, and Malcolm… and Glen… she hadn't known anyone except Malcolm. "Abbie, when you're done, join us." He ordered when she passed by again.

That request surprised her, and she nodded, another tray empty and blinked when Amy informed her everyone was eating. They really did make one hell of a team, despite the slight pause, thanks to Taker. She took her plate of food and did as Taker instructed, joining them at the table. Steve scooted over, so she could sit beside him since Susan had the spot beside Taker occupied. Something told her there was a major connection between the two of them, though she knew it wasn't anything romantic or sexual. She began to eat quietly, trying not to think about the upcoming meeting after dinner that would forever change everyone's perception of her. Hell, she also didn't know Susan would be announced as Taker's family too.

"Scoot over, Steve. Where's your woman?"

Steve looked around as Melina took his other side, spotting Trish sitting with Stephanie and John. "I think she's talking to Stephanie about something personal… you know, chicky things."

Melina hadn't done a very good job of keeping friends. She and Trish used to be best friends… before her grief had turned her into a raging alcoholic bitch. "You're looking so much better, Susan." She smiled at the woman besides Taker. "I'm Melina, by the way, I don't know if you remember me."

"Yeah, I do. Thank you for taking care of me Miss Melina." When all eyes turned to stare at her that sat at the table, besides Abigail, Susan began feeling very self-conscious. "Sorry…"

"Just Melina sweetie, you don't need to be formal around here. We're all friends and family." Melina kissed the top of her son's head while he devoured his food. "I still wanna do another exam on you since you kinda ran out on me."

"Okay…Melina." Susan had to pause before calling her 'Miss' again, looking across the table at Abigail. "Abigail, do you like it here?"

Now all eyes were on her. "Yeah sweetheart, I do. Every person in this town has welcomed me with open arms, and they didn't have to." Though, she didn't know how much longer that would last. "Hell Steve, she might be asking Stephanie tips on how to get pregnant."

Steve promptly choked on his meatloaf.

"Oops?"

Taker snorted into the glass of water he had been raising to take a sip from, instantly setting it down and began shaking his head.

"Shut the hell up, Deadman."

"Oh, that's hilarious, Austin! Your woman is asking for tips on how to get pregnant. Let me ask you something, you ever try the plain old-fashioned way?"

"You're hilarious…"

"We have some old fertility pills, herbal of course, but-"

"I am quite capable of knockin' her up!"

Abigail tried, really hard, not to laugh and covered her mouth with her hand to keep the giggles inside, her eyes refusing to meet the bald man's. "Not according to her." She tightened her lips together when those blue eyes were SEARING through her now.

"What the hell you mean?!"

"Women talk, Austin, or didn't you get the memo? She's been trying to get pregnant for a while and…well, she thinks you might have some…issues…in that department…"

"WHAT?!" Steve exploded, standing up from the table and tossed his hands in the air. "THAT IS THE MOST GODDAMN RIDICULOUS THING I'VE-"

"Um, Steve?" Trish had walked over, looking incredibly nervous and had no idea what had set him off, but this announcement couldn't wait until later.

"I'm – uh – I'm pregnant…"

Steve gaped at his woman for all of 3 seconds before doing a fist-pump in the air. "I TOLD YOU BASTARDS I COULD DO IT!"

Everyone busted out laughing.

Trish had asked for Abigail's help to 'break the ice' about pregnancy to Steve, to gauge his reaction and they had a secret hand motion for her to come over when Abigail felt the time was right to tell him.

'Thank you.' Trish mouthed, crying while Steve held her close.

Abigail winked at her before resuming eating.

Steve wasn't as amused so much as relieved that he wasn't shooting blanks. When it hit, eventually, that they were having a baby, he was going to have a full out panic attack because they had never talked about kids. Raising kids in this time was scarier than anything he had ever contemplated. Taker was just watching, not wanting to know just what kind of female trickery had just happened here. If the women of the world banned together, he had a feeling they would take over within days.

After dinner was finished, Abigail began cleaning up and carried plates to the kitchen, starting the water for the dishes. She was exhausted after the emotionally straining day they'd all had, but Taker was adamant about having the meeting. Stephanie looked dead on her feet, so Amy ordered John to take her home and put her to bed. It wasn't good for her to be on her feet for extended periods of time, especially so far into her pregnancy. Trish, Amy and Abigail all banded together to do the cleanup and they were shocked when Susan asked if she could help with anything. They nodded, putting her to work on clearing the tables and bringing the dirty dishes to the sink, stacking them neatly. Taker and the men had ventured outside to talk amongst themselves until the cleanup was completed. Then, they would go to Taker's tower, which had a long round table inside of it where everyone in his council could convene and sit comfortably. Stephanie and John would be there, providing the woman didn't fall asleep from exhaustion.

"You sure you really wanna do this? Tell them all?" Steve asked, having taken a 'perimeter' walk with Taker to get the story.

It was a HELL of a tale, one he could both believe and at the same time… there were niggles. That just couldn't be helped in this day and age, though. Taker said he trusted Abigail, and he trusted the boss.

"The timing though, with Susan… that's-"

"Overly coincidental, I agree." That did trouble Taker, the timing. "Send everyone up to the tower when they're ready."

He walked off, needing to think about the past 24 hours and all the revelations. How all this was going to play out was beyond him. He did know they definitely needed to get Malcolm out of Bray's grasp, one way or another because it was the magic that was enabling him to have that army and more added every day.

When the cleaning was done, an hour later, Abigail had to stop herself from having a panic attack and breathe, folding what was left of the now clean towels. Trish and Amy went ahead of her to the tower since she needed a minute to herself. Susan had stayed behind and looked just as nervous as Abigail did, for obvious reasons.

Time to face the music, she thought, swallowing hard and walked out of the common house with Susan, who had grabbed her hand.

They arrived at the tower far faster than Abigail would've liked and the door was already ajar, allowing people inside instead of having to knock. They descended the winding staircase, which was dark except for the torches lit on either side to give them a path. Abigail had never been past the first 2 rooms of this place, so when it opened up into a room with a huge round table and chairs, along with a bar, she was…flabbergasted, to put it mildly. Everyone else was here and had waited for her along with Susan, who immediately went to Taker's side. Taker gestured for everyone to take a seat and Abigail did so, clasping her hands in her lap, wishing her heart would stop pounding a beating drum in her chest.

Taker had considered giving Abigail the floor, but… all things considered, he figured his people would take it better hearing it from him first off. Then they could question her all they wanted. Also, Abigail looked ready to hurl all over his table and that would be gross. Taking a deep breath and staring at the faces assembled, he began recounting what Abigail had told him in the library, taking note that Steve was observing everyone's reactions. There was a reason Steve was his right-hand man. When he was finished, he leaned back in his chair, giving everyone a moment to digest and hoped Abbie was ready for the onslaught about to come her way.

"Oh my god…"

"Jesus Christ…"

Amy immediately stood up from the table and walked over to Abigail, seeing the tears in the woman's eyes. What she must have endured and witnessed…nobody deserved that kind of pain, that agony, that heartbreak. She pulled the woman up out of her chair and hugged her tightly, showing she wasn't alone in this, ever. Sure, she had lied when she first came to Wonderful, but Amy didn't blame her for that. Who the hell would crucify her after the horrific details Taker had given them about her life and she'd suffered? Being called a Queen Mother and being forced to watch innocent women dragged out of their homes, away from their own families, all to become breeders and eventually slaughtered and burned…her arms tightened around Abigail's neck, not letting her go because it was obvious the woman needed comfort at the moment.

"Do you still…I can't believe I'm asking this, but do you still have feelings for Bray Wyatt?" Trish had to know, rubbing her flat stomach, and felt Steve take her hand, lacing their fingers together.

"No." Abigail gently but firmly extracted Amy from her and held her hand up, letting her know silently she was fine, but she needed a minute. "So much innocent blood has been spilled in Vesperia. Our world is in shambles because of the DOV. It has to be stopped, all of it. Women are dying on a daily basis because they can't perform to standards. Innocent blood is coating his hands…his body…his soul…and he's never going to be the same man I once loved and followed. He did save me, and the only way I see saving him is by putting him out of his misery." Abigail gripped the chair in front of her so tightly, her knuckles turned white. "I already told Taker I will do whatever it takes – WHATEVER IT TAKES – to put an end to this, even if it ends with my death." Again, she held her hand up to Amy and smiled sadly at her. "I'm not afraid of dying. But I will fight, I will not succumb and surrender to him a second longer. That's why I left the castle in the first place, to come here 'undercover'. I came here to see if there was hope in this world, if there was someone to stop Bray…and there is." She pointed at Undertaker across the table, tears sliding down her cheeks. "He's…our hope. He's the only one who can stop this. If he can't, the DOV wins and I'd rather be dead than watch that come to fruition, as I'm sure all of you feel the same way."

"So why deceive us?"

"If you were in my shoes, Stephanie, what would you have done? I couldn't just come walking in here and say, 'oh hi, my name is Abigail Waters and I'm from the DOV, undercover mind you, and I need to speak with your leader, master, whatever'. No, I don't think that would've gone over well. I had to play it safe, close to the chest, and when I went on that trip with Taker yesterday, I found my chance to tell him everything, to come clean."

"Good point." Stephanie couldn't argue with that, feeling John's arm wrap around her shoulders.

"This isn't about me. I didn't come here to save myself. The only people I want to save, truly, are the ones that are suffering at the hands of the DOV, at the hands of Bray Wyatt. Girls like Susan, who have no idea what the world is truly about and haven't had a chance to live, who are being FORCED to grow up too fast because of a damn serum that should never be used in the first place! She was lucky, she got out, but there are many more that need to be liberated."

"Okay, honey, that's all well and fine," Steve said gently after the women had gotten the feelings and pretty speeches out of the way, clearing his throat. "But it sounds like you two share, or did share, a special bond." He held up his hands when he got a few looks. "Now I'm not tryin' to paint you as a bad guy. I'm pretty sure all of us would've been the same way, growin' up in those conditions. But when the time actually comes, words and actions are two different things."

"Then when the time comes, when Bray does come for me, and he will, use me as leverage. However you see fit, I accepted my fate long ago that I may not survive this. If you have to threaten my life or kill me in order to gain an advantage over him, I'm ready. I will pay the price for my people if it means they are saved." Abigail did not blame Steve for his trepidation, but she had nothing left to hide and had bared her soul to everyone surrounding the table.

"It won't come to that…"

"It may very well, Amy. And you need to come to terms with that. If it's me or the liberation and destruction of the DOV, my life is not worth hundreds, possibly thousands." She placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, smiling softly, resignedly, knowing her fate the moment she stepped foot inside Wonderful.

"So, why would Bray Wyatt come for you? I mean, I get you're the Queen Mother or whatever they call you in the DOV, but what makes YOU, specifically, so special to him that he would come strictly for you?"

This was a difficult subject for Abigail to talk about, but she had to be completely honest with everyone here. "To breed with me, to make an heir, or heirs, to the DOV. Bray has never…" She shut her eyes, feeling her cheeks burn a deep crimson and took a deep breath. "He's never went to bed with another woman…and the same goes for me. He thinks by taking each other's virginity, we'll create some kind of powerful heir that will carry the DOV into the next generation…and I made him believe that's what I want and waited for my chance to escape. He said, 'when the time is right, we would be one', and I think he planned on using the serum on me, laced with Mythril, to ensure I birthed him a son instead of a daughter." She looked positively disgusted, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. "I'm the only one he wants to breed with, so therefore, he will come for me, along with the Mythril."

"I don't know about that…" Matt Hardy said thoughtfully, having been silent as he listened to the chatter. Jeff wasn't present; he tended to be a bit more on the emotional side. Matt was the brother one went to when they needed pragmatism. "If, when," He corrected himself. "He finds out about your betrayal, he's going to… well, pride damages people. If someone is already damaged to begin with…"

"He's going to rape you and then probably put your head on a pike."

"Yeah, that."

"And no martyrs, honey, we don't deal in that bullshit. You're just fine alive."

"This is not me being a martyr, Steve. This is me accepting what is and what needs to be done, should it come to that. My betrayal will wound him, possibly destroy him mentally, emotionally…" Her eyes flashed, darkening slightly. "He'll be scared, vulnerable, and not think clearly. Again, IF you need to use me against him, I'll go willingly without a fight. If he gets his hands on me, then it is what it is. As long as he goes down with me and the DOV, that's all I really care about in the end. I'm done watching him kill our world, innocent people, and using magic as a means to an end to build his army. Fuck religion and fuck the DOV." This all started with religion, because of what happened to them in the foster home and it warped Bray into the monster he was now. "I'm sorry I lied to all of you. It wasn't easy to do, whether you believe that or not."

It ate her up inside, actually.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"She has a hard time gettin' past the fact that we're not overly upset, doesn't she?"

"Well, look where she comes from, Steve…"

"Yeah, no shit." Amy snorted, drumming her fingers on the tabletop. "Look, don't be in such a hurry to throw your life away. We don't like head-on confrontations, so chances are-"

"We're going to sneak in." Taker cut her off abruptly.

"Okay, how?"

"Abbie is going to describe the layout of the castle, and I will go, to provide some… cover."

"But that leaves Wonderful without guaranteed protection, Taker." Steve pointed out.

"Then we probably shouldn't lose this fight. First target will have to be the sorcerer, I want him out alive, if possible." Taker wasn't going up against his own father for one, and two, he wasn't a natural magic user, so… he liked living.

"That won't work, Undertaker."

"I'm in agreement with her, for once."

"She's right…" Susan had to stop herself from calling him Uncle Mark in the presence of everyone since they didn't know his true identity. He'd made that crystal clear to her and she promised not to blurt his secret or their connection. "The castle is enormous with a lot of hidden passageways. Papa sent me through one of them, but that's one of many."

"Thank you, Susan." Abigail smiled at her, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "It's best to wait and let them come here. That way, Wonderful will still be protected by your magic. Now, if you wanted to do a rescue mission, secretively, to get Malcolm out of there…"

"Malcolm?"

"The sorcerer Taker referred to. He's the one who's been concocting the serum for Bray. If it's stopped and brought here, without Bray and the DOV knowing, that would be a HUGE disadvantage for the DOV."

"Makes sense, but…I'm sensin' this isn't gonna be as easy as it sounds…"

"I can't simply explain to you the passageways. I have to BE there in order to direct you on where to go. Is there some kind of…invisibility spell or something we could use?"

"The invisibility cloak…but it is said to be hidden in a cave far east of here…and it's full of monsters."

"If we can't do a spell to make us invisible long enough to get in and get out with Malcolm, we may have to consider going that route. But, it's up to Undertaker. However, I cannot possibly give you the layout of the castle, it's too massive."

"If we don't go there, then eventually, he's going to come here because he's got it in his head that there is only one… woman," 'Taker's eyes narrowed because that was not the word that came to mind. "For him and apparently she is his Queen." Bray Wyatt sounded stupid; zealots usually were. Obviously, he was stupid and had built himself a ridiculous religion that enslaved women. "And Wyatt has tried to breach our walls several times, which is why Abigail is now here. Unless he is dumb enough to come up and be shot from our towers, we'll be at a stalemate."

"It's not like we can't go out and… oh." Steve shut the hell up at the dark look he had received. "You can't go because, if you go, all these people die."

"And we apparently can't try gettin' in THERE undetected."

That would have worked better, as nobody outside of Wonderful knew what he looked like. Here in Wonderful, Taker had to hide while that idiot camped outside his walls, knowing if he died, they died immediately after. If he went out in disguise, Wyatt would never know.

"Everyone is dismissed." He was too tired for this tonight. "We'll discuss it further tomorrow."

Nobody argued with him and filed out, Abigail behind everyone else heading for the exit. She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder and looked up at Undertaker, wondering what he wanted, figuring he just wanted to speak with her alone. Stephanie gestured Susan to come with her, having set up a nice bed in the common house for her that was right next to Abigail.

"What is it?" She asked softly, figuring he'd want to be alone after everything that happened tonight and furrowed her brows together.

If Taker was trying to convince her to give him a complete layout of the castle, he was out of luck since Bray didn't allow her to go many places within it. The only passageway she knew of was Malcolm's and, even then, that had been discovered accidentally one day. All he needed was a way in, information that she DID know. But, it was what it was, and Abigail had made it clear she didn't know anything useful, at least nothing he immediately considered advantageous.

"I want to talk to you about Susan." He said quietly, not about to talk strategy with her, again. "Her mother, Lily, and her… papa, the sorcerer Malcolm. Lily is my sister and Malcolm is my father." Taker let that sink in, letting go of her to walk over to pour himself a drink. Tonight definitely was a drinking night, a drinking and passing out night.

It took SEVERAL minutes for that information to sink into her brain, due to the shock and Abigail could only gape at him, suddenly understanding why Susan and Taker had been close so quickly. They were FAMILY! Swallowing incredibly hard, when Taker walked back over to hand her a tumbler of whiskey, she took it and downed the whole thing, the burning sensation jolting her out of her shock.

"Okay…" Did Malcolm know the Undertaker was his SON? No, he couldn't or else he would've told Susan to go straight to him instead of Abigail. "Susan is your…niece then, right?" She spoke somewhat cautiously, watching him nod as he downed his own tumbler and felt as if her brain just imploded. "I-I had no idea, Taker…"

"Why would or should you?" He asked, sending her a confused look before leading the way down to his main rooms, where more whiskey awaited, and comfortable furniture.

Taker hadn't known Malcolm was still alive, much less Lily, or any children. He imagined it was the same for Malcolm, assuming his sons were dead. Filling his tumbler again, from his private stash not meant for war councils and the like, Taker dropped down on the edge of his bed, the lighting automatically adjusting to his presence.

"Help yourself if you want another drink."

That was a good point, but she'd said it in case he thought she knew that information already. She was from the enemy camp, after all. The second thing she noticed was how HUGE that bed was. Abigail wasn't a big drinker, but tonight she felt the need to get a refill, pouring a healthy dose of whiskey in her tumbler. Then, she walked over to stare out the window down at Wonderful, everyone nestling in for the night as the lights began turning off one by one. She took a sip from the tumbler, feeling the warmth from the alcohol flowing through her veins and finally looked over at Taker, her heart breaking for him. Walking over, she stood in front of him and slid her fingers through his hair, trying to comfort him the best way she could.

Like a giant panther, his head tipped into her palm, feeling her caressing his hair and his scalp, wondering how she'd feel if he purred. That brought a faint smile to his lips and he drained his tumbler, setting it aside on the floor as the bed was fairly low to the ground and looped an arm around Abigail's waist. Drawing her down onto the bed, he lay back, pulling her so she lay sprawled on top of him.

"It has been a long day, darlin'." He rumbled, placing her hands back to his head.

"It has." Abigail agreed softly, noticing quickly he enjoyed having her fingers sift through his hair.

He had beautiful tresses, a deep dark auburn that looked black when it was wet. It was obvious Taker didn't want to talk about anything, which was fine with her because Abigail was drained emotionally and mentally. Tenderly, she began kissing along the faint scar that ran down the side of his face, once again letting him know they didn't bother her. Taker tensed for a minute and she continued, knowing stopping would've alarmed him or at least ruined the moment. All the while, she kept caressing his hair and rested her free hand against his chest over his heart.

Letting her kiss and caress him, Taker admitted to himself it felt nice to be coddled for a change. He was the leader; he was usually perceived as some magical, mythical force that was unstoppable, no limits. Didn't he wish! After a while, he had relaxed completely, and Abigail had never stopped her ministrations. Rolling them both so her back was against the mattress and he was hovering over her, he studied her face. She was a bit rosy in the cheeks and that made Taker smile slightly, bending down to brush his nose along her jawline, his lips ghosting hers.

Instinctively, her lips caught his in a deeper kiss, her hand resting on the side of his face and felt his body press her further into the mattress. She moaned softly and groaned when he pulled back, hearing his deep chuckle against her throat. This man was evil and had her at his mercy. If he wanted to, he could snap her like a twig and send her back to Bray broken, possibly dead. That wasn't the type of man he was, though. Taker wanted to protect everyone, including her, and that alone made her want to be with him. She writhed beneath him since her neck was one of the most sensitive areas of her body and felt his hand slip under her tank top to caress the flesh of her stomach, the heat pulsating through her further.

As much as she wanted to use herself as an honorable distraction for the cause or whatever it was she thought, and he was attributing that to her Catholic upbringing and the whole self-flagellation thing, the punishing self-thing, he wasn't that kind of man. He was, however, the kind of man who was very aware of the desirable woman beneath him, her curves beneath his palms as he ran calloused hands up further along her ribs, eventually testing the waters by cupping her breasts. Taker could feel her hardened nipples and her body arching into his touch.

"Mmm let me up for a minute…" Abigail requested breathlessly, smiling when he obliged and took her tank top off, leaving her bra on.

He could take it off of her if he wanted to, but at least she wasn't burning up anymore. Her hand slid up the front of his top, pulling on it and could see the desire swirling through his now dark forest green orbs. "Too many clothes on, and I want to feel your skin against mine."

She pushed it up over his head, dropping the material to the floor and tested the waters by pressing her chest against his, her bra suddenly a nuisance. A few seconds later, it was unsnapped and off her, their bare chests now touching as his mouth caught hers again, making her head spin. Virgin, he had to remind himself, a bit amused when she had removed her top, knowing she felt overheated… she'd shed more clothes and discover that burning wasn't something she would relieve by stripping. Taker had the cure for her fever-like state, though… he felt the same. Sitting upright, Taker pulled Abigail with him, so her legs were wrapped around his waist, heels on the bed. Holding her upper body weight with his hands, he tipped her back, bending down until his mustache and goatee tickled along her collarbone, kissing and licking his way down the valley of her breasts.

"Mmm, that feels good…" Abigail voiced how she felt, her hands gripping his broad shoulders and trusted him not to drop her.

That would've been awkward as hell. She gasped when he took one of her erect nipples in his mouth, swirling it around his tongue and used teeth slightly to add a different sensation. Abigail hissed out softly, burying her fingers in his hair and her nails dug a little into his shoulder with her free hand, lulling her head back further. Then, he moved to the other breast, giving her other nipple the same treatment and whimpered, the fire inside of her now a full-blown inferno. Her panties were soaked, and Abigail was pretty sure she would be leaking through the jeans she had on from how wet she was.

Abigail was radiating heat and he felt like he was leaching it from her, his lips burning a trail across her skin. Snaking an arm around her, in order to a free a hand, Taker delved it between them. Pulling his head up, Taker studied her face, green eyes searching hers as he began caressing her through the denim, watching for a sign she wasn't compliant with this. He wasn't the DOV or Bray Wyatt; she would be completely willing, or this wouldn't happen, period. It felt good, there was no doubt about it, but the denim was too thick to really feel and experience the warmth of his hand against her nethers.

"Off…off, t-they need to come off…" She stammered out in a groan, pushing her jean covered sex against his hand to further stimulate her.

Abigail was burning up, her face contorted in a mixture of frustration and ecstasy. Taker pushed her back to where she landed on her feet and, with his mouth, unsnapped her jeans, his hands caressing her backside before delving them beneath the thick material to feel the thin material of her panties. She could only watch him mesmerized, not realizing her eyes had blackened and slowly felt him start pushing the jeans down her legs until she had to kick her shoes off before stepping out of them. Then, his finger went right back to stroking her and this time, Abigail shuddered, her hands tightening on his shoulders to keep from falling over.

Her panties were drenched. He could feel it, see it and smell it; the woman was beyond aroused. It was heady, and Taker pushed her back onto the bed, kneeling on the floor before her. He locked eyes with her for a moment, slowly lowering his head between her spread thighs, his hands moving to her inner thighs, gently spreading them apart further. They didn't even have to go all the way tonight, but he was definitely sampling her. Not having a clue what was happening because she'd never gone this far with Bray, her eyes grew wide in wonder. Her panties were gone a minute later, and Taker had gone back to caressing and kissing her inner thighs, making her tremble. They were trembling on their own and she had no control over it, her heart pounding a furious tattoo in her chest.

"W-What are you…ohhhhh…" Abigail felt his hot breath puff against her dripping sex before his tongue slid up the length of her, her fingers instantly burying in his hair. "O-Oh god…" Never in her life had she been touched down there, so this was an entirely new experience for her.

Whatever exploration she and that punk leader of the DOV had done over the years, apparently it had all been very chaste. Twenty-six and a virgin, who had hardly any idea of the pleasures to be had when it came to sex, and not even just that one act. There was so much more to it than what she had seen in the DOV at the hands of those rapists. She tasted as delicious as her scent had promised him she would, and Taker found himself forgetting to check in with her, more intent on devouring.

Breathless. That was the only word to describe how she felt at the moment with his head buried between her thighs. Never did Abigail think she'd enjoy a man's tongue and lips on her lower region. On her neck, sure, but being pleasured orally was…an experience she would never, ever forget.

"O-Oh fuck! Taker, Taker please…" She squirmed, trying to increase the pressure on her clit and his huge, tattooed sleeved arm held her down, preventing her from grinding her sex into his mouth harder. "B-Burning…I'm – I'm…oh god, w-what's happening…" A hot sensation developed in her stomach, a tightening, a tingling pressure…it felt like coil threatening to spring free, or maybe a volcano on the verge of eruption. "P-Please…"

He knew exactly what was happening to her and was encouraging it, sliding one large finger between her slick folds. He felt Abigail tensing at was undoubtedly a very new sensation, but her body knew what it was doing. This was something just built in the DNA, something primal, basic, and when done out of fun, or love, or anything except anger and rage, it was a beautiful, pleasurable experience.

"Let go, darlin'…"

Breathing erratically, his finger inside of her, combined with his tongue, sent her into sensation overload. When that finger began pumping in and out of her slowly, methodically, the pain was minimal and, luckily, the pleasure overtook it, the combination making her head spin. Abigail had to lay back on the bed, gripping her hair in her fingers, and soon, the wave of warmth washed over her, feeling fluid leave her body. It was her climax, her very first orgasm and it reminded her of a shattering mirror. She had literally shattered to pieces, crying out his name in her release and tried catching her breath while he feasted on her essence.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"W-Wow…oh wow…" Abigail coughed out a little, scrubbing a hand down her face and looked down at Taker finishing up, his mouth pulling away from her still soaking sex.

"Mmm…" He rumbled, licking his lips before bending down to run his tongue lazily up her still soaked slit, smirking when he felt Abbie trembling.

When he felt her hands in his hair, he pulled away again and moved up her body, bending down to brush his lips against hers. Lust filled green eyes studied her face, taking in the flush, her dazed look… he approved. Taker was willing to bet she felt all relaxed and limp, lethargic, at the moment.

"You taste delicious, Abigail." He informed her, his tone coming out a harsh growl.

Tasting herself on his tongue was also a new experience and, surprisingly, she didn't find it gross or disgusting. How was that possible? His growl made her shiver all over again, especially when his mouth once again sealed to her neck. Abigail didn't think it was fair that he'd pleasured her orally, but didn't receive the same treatment.

"T-Taker, wait…" His head lifted to meet her eyes and she kissed him again, caressing his face tenderly with her hand. "I want to…do the same thing to you that you just did to me. I-I've never done it before, but…I want to try…"

He'd pleasured her with his mouth, so that meant she would have to do the same thing with hers. Abigail chewed her bottom lip as he contemplated her, feeling another flush wash over her body and melted when he captured her mouth again. From his understanding, Abigail's prior sexual experience was 6th grade, kissing and making out behind a tree, type stuff. Hell, he felt old; that was literally a whole lifetime ago, an entirely different world.

"Darlin'… as appreciative of that thought as I am…" And his cock was rock hard and practically screaming at him to shut the hell up. "I uh…"

Fuck all, she was a virgin and he wanted to take things sort of slow with her, give her time to enjoy, learn, and if need be, back out. He pulled back again, rolling onto his side and brought her with him, so she was on hers as well. Taking her hand, Taker guided it down to the front of his jeans, figuring they'd just start… small, so to speak.

Never had she felt a cock in her hand pulsate and harden, but that was all about to change tonight. Her first orgasm and now…Abigail swallowed hard at the hard bulge in his jeans and became nervous, wondering if he was even her size. If his cock would even fit inside of her. One step at a time, she thought, fumbling for a minute with the button of his jeans before finally unfastening them. Abigail didn't know what made her continue, but she slid his zipper down, her eyes focused on what she was doing, and knew this would be a lot easier if he took his jeans off.

"Will you…stand up for me? I don't think I can take these off with you…laying down…" Her eyes shyly peaked up at him, her hand stroking his bare chest.

Considering he could probably fit a few of her in his jeans, Taker smirked at the thought at how tiny she was. How breakable, and here she was, trusting him. His nickname was the Undertaker and she was the technical woman of his enemy, yet here she was trusting him. That shot a few weird things through him. Taker was overthinking it, overcomplicating it and he shed his pants before she could reach out for him, revealing himself to her in all his naked glory because he went commando. They were definitely going to have to take things slow, he mused, his gaze on Abigail's eyes. She was staring right at his cock.

Was a penis supposed to be THAT big?! Abigail could not take her eyes off it, trembling in both anticipation and a hint of fear, not of him, but of what he packed in those jeans. Swallowing hard, she had to take a deep, shuddering breath and reached out to take his cock in her hand, the hard warmth feeling wonderful against her touch. He groaned out and her eyes snapped from his cock up to his face, seeing he was enjoying what she was doing to him. Biting her bottom lip, Abigail testing the waters and stroked him one, two, three times, slowly and gently, not wanting to hurt him in any way.

When substance began forming on the tip of his cock, Abigail didn't even think twice about it and went on instinct, letting them guide her on what to do. Her tongue slid out to taste the pre-cum on his tip and felt his body shudder, a soft moan escaping her. It didn't taste bad, just a tad salty, but definitely not bad at all. So that was what cum from a man tasted like…interesting. She began licking and swirling her tongue around the tip experimentally, enjoying the sounds of Taker groaning echoing in her ears.

Virgin, virgin, virgin, he had to keep mentally repeating, forcing himself to not take her hair like reigns and fuck her mouth. Not to mention he didn't want to split those pretty lips of hers. "Watch your teeth, darlin'…" He cautioned when she took him into her mouth, pretty sure she would regret that since lockjaw was a thing. And he liked his skin where it was. "Fuck, Abbie…" It had been a while for him and just the feel of her tongue was going to blow his mind.

"Does that feel good?" She didn't wait for a response and continued suckling on his tip, her hand stroking him up and down continuously. "Lay down on the bed."

Abigail stood up in front of him and smiled as he allowed her to push him down on it, getting on her knees in front of him. That was better, at least he wouldn't have sore legs and feet from standing while she pleasured him. Then, she proceeded to continue the same treatment on his cock, just the tip again, before beginning to slide her tongue up and down his length. This was all experimental; she wanted to see what made him tick, what he enjoyed, and made sure not to use her teeth, going from one side to the other. Pulling back at his heavy breathing, she very carefully opened her mouth to take him in her mouth and could only get his tip due to his girth, knowing she would have a VERY sore jaw in the morning. It would be worth it though.

"Darlin', use your hand." He urged, raising his head up on pillows in order to watch her, seeing her problem.

Taker wasn't a tiny man by any means and, while it was great having those bragging rights with the boys, a few women had told him flat out it wasn't happening. That part sucked. At her somewhat puzzled look, he showed her by reaching down and gripping himself, showing her. Apparently, a man could have an orgasm by being stroked, but that's not what Abigail wanted to do for him. He'd pleasured her with his mouth and she wanted to do the same thing for him. Maybe she could do both and pushed his hand away to take over, his mouth once again on his tip while she pumped him up and down. A hiss escaped him, and Abigail knew she was doing it right, continuing doing both and once again watched her teeth.

Her hand began going faster, pumping harder, and Abigail realized why they called it a blowjob. It really was a job, a pleasurable one, but her arm would be hurting her tomorrow. Still, she didn't stop and did a sort of French kiss on his tip, opening her mouth to take him in and out of her mouth, not stopping the pumping. No matter how long it took, she would make him climax the same way he did her and reached down with her free hand to fondle his balls, not realizing that just intensified everything for Taker.

Also, it put him on edge because the wrong move or a squeeze would turn that pleasure right into excruciating pain. Abigail seemed to be on the gentle, tender side, so… he relaxed. His fists gripped the sheets beneath him, so he didn't take hold of her hair, refusing to pull out those beautiful ebony tresses.

"Darlin', I'm real close." He warned her huskily, figuring he'd do her the solid of letting her decide if she wanted to attempt swallowing. Most women didn't, he supposed he didn't blame them. And since it had been a long time for him… "Abbie…" She wasn't about to have a choice. He could feel everything tensing, his balls were tingling in a very pleasant, familiar way. "ABBIE!" She was trying to swallow. Bless this woman's heart because she was a rare breed indeed.

Honestly, there was no way anyone could swallow THAT amount of cum in one sitting, not unless it was shot directly down their throat. Abigail did not have that option and swallowed most of it, but some spilled out of the corner of her mouth on both sides, dripping to the floor. She coughed, not gagging necessarily, but it had been A LOT and she'd barely gotten it down. Hopefully, that would be easier to do as time went on, should Taker decide he wanted to do something like this with her again.

Taker collapsed back on the bed in a heap, breathing erratically much like she had, and Abigail rose to her feet, immediately heading into the nearest bathroom to clean herself up. There was no way she would kiss him with his own cum on her face, it wasn't happening, and it was a little gross, if she was being completely honest. Running the water in the sink, she splashed her face and wiped her mouth off with the towel, after making sure to get the semen off her mouth and chin, before rejoining him in the bedroom.

"Are you gonna be okay?" She asked, sitting beside him on the bed and laid back to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Jesus Christ, darlin', you asking me that…"

He shook his head, running a hand down his face, which was probably bright red due to how intense that had been, along with the breathing issues he was having. His balls felt deflated and Taker knew he'd have balance issues tomorrow, which made him laugh at how stupid that thought was. Still chuckling, he pulled Abigail into his arms and on top of him, capturing her mouth in a kiss. He hadn't missed the look on her face when she had hauled her cookies to the bathroom, not begrudging it.

"Round two?" He teased, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

Abigail was glad he wasn't angry with her for going to clean herself up, though there was nothing to be done about Taker tasting himself on his tongue when he kissed her. The same went for earlier when she had to taste herself, so she supposed it was only fair. She giggled softly at his wiggling brows and smoothed them over with the pad of her thumb, nodding.

"I'll go as many rounds with you as you want, Taker." She said truthfully, pretty sure she could hear both their hearts pounding and beating as one. "Will you be able to continue? Your face is really red and…you're still breathing heavy…maybe we should take a break and let you cool down?" It wasn't said to be sarcastic; Abigail was genuinely concerned about him and caressed his face with her fingertips, leaning over to where her hair curtained around them. "Don't wanna give you a heart attack or anything like that."

"I'm willing to risk it, but water isn't a bad idea."

He gently pushed her away and stood up, stretching his limbs and tried getting some blood flow back into them. Taker felt like a cooked noodle and relaxed. He hadn't realized he had been overly tense until just now. Retrieving a few bottled waters, Taker brought them back to bed, passing her one.

"Now be honest, Abbie, how are you feeling about all this?" He didn't want her saying she would go as many rounds as he wanted just to please him, or anything else; he wanted her to be genuinely enjoying herself.

"Besides making a mess with…swallowing…never better." Abigail answered honestly, downing half her bottled water and hadn't realized how thirsty sexual activity made a person.

Hell, she wasn't even this parched with all the make-out sessions she and Bray had throughout the years. What she just experienced with Taker was…unlike anything she'd ever felt before and Abigail wanted more. She finished the rest of the water, tossing the empty bottle in the nearby trashcan and took Taker's empty one, adding it to hers. Moving, she straddled him again and kissed him, softly, sensually, feeling a little bolder. It did not bother her they were both completely naked either, if anything the skin on skin contact felt exquisite. However, when his hand brushed against the scar on her lower back, something he hadn't noticed because she'd been on her back or knees during the foreplay they'd just had, Abigail tensed slightly and broke the kiss to stare into his eyes, trying to read him. Did it bother him she had scars of her own?

The scar didn't bother him a bit and he lazily trailed a finger along the marred skin, feeling the length, the thinness of it. No, it didn't bother him that it was on her. It bothered him WHY, but that was long before his time and there was nothing he could do about it now.

"You're beautiful, Abigail." He reassured her, running his hand up and down her back soothingly. "Scars don't bother me, darlin'." He would be the world's biggest ass if they did all things considered.

Sighing, she pressed her forehead against his and merely kissed him, pressing herself closer to him. "They don't bother me either." She murmured, sliding her fingertips along the scars on his face and rubbed her nose against his, not a hint of repulsion in her eyes. "They give a person character and show they're a survivor." Sliding her fingers through his hair, Abigail couldn't get enough touching him and softly rained kisses all over his face, once again giving ample attention to the scar. "You're so warm…so strong and kind…handsome – definitely handsome…" She spoke near his ear, their chests pressing together, and tested a theory with her tongue against his lobe, tracing it. "Tell me if this feels good, Taker…"

"It feels great, Abbie." That seemed like another understatement, but divine also sounded corny. He let his hands roam her body again, shuddering when she found the spot just behind his ear, growling. "Woman…" She didn't stop, and Taker gripped her backside, pulling her into him, so she could feel him stirring again. "You're waking the beast again, darlin'." Taker informed her, pretty sure she had just giggled in his ear.

"Mmm good, I like the beast awake…"

Abigail squealed when she was suddenly planted on the bed on her back with him hovering over her, her midnight blues blackened over yet again. Her hand slid up his chest as his head dipped to capture her mouth and, all the while, his knee had very blatantly parted her thighs to where he could settle between them. Once again, her fingers buried in his hair as their tongues dueled together, tasting each other, the addiction more powerful than ever. Only when they needed air to breathe did Taker break it and attacked her neck, making her writhe beneath him again.

"I am curious…" She spoke breathlessly, hearing him give a half mumble/half grunt against her skin and arched her head to give him further access. "Will your cock fit completely inside of me…or am I too small for you?"

"It'll fit, mostly." He tried not to laugh, knowing she was serious about that question. Given his size and her virgin status… Taker didn't blame her one bit. "It's going to hurt, Abigail." There was no point keeping that fact from her hidden. He was an above-average size, and this would be her first time; it was going to hurt. "We don't have to do this tonight, darlin', we can take our time." A woman's body was a marvelous thing; she would definitely be able to take at least some of him and, if he had to improvise the rest with his hand or fingers, it wouldn't be the first time.

"I know it will." Abigail wasn't completely stupid when it came to anatomy and sex, though foreplay she had been blind on. She pulled back to stare into his eyes, gliding the pad of her thumb across his lips and could tell he what he said was the truth. "I trust you'll make it as comfortable and less painful as possible, though." The last thing she wanted to do was leave him hanging or to end their night together since it had been amazing so far. "Could we do the whole…foreplay thing again and…work our way up to actual sex? I'm nervous…I'm not gonna lie." She rested her forehead against his, breathing a little shakily. "I want you, Taker, but…taking our time instead of rushing sounds good…"

"Sounds good indeed, darlin'."

Taker had no intention now of divesting her of her virginity tonight. He figured they could do the experimental and foreplay thing. Her body would be so desperate for the actual experience of sex, it would handle the pain issue a bit better. Abigail hadn't left him hanging tonight, not at all. He was always up for cumming again, who wouldn't be? But at the same time, now that his issues had been handled, he was in a lot better control.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The sunlight streamed through the window as Abigail slowly popped one eye open and immediately regretted it, turning on her side to snuggle further in the pillow. She felt something warm against her and immediately snapped her eyes open, looking up at the peaceful sleeping Undertaker. It took her a minute to recollect the previous night and felt his arms tighten around her to pull her closer, his nose burying in her hair. They hadn't had sex, but…the foreplay – that had been spectacular in itself. Hours of having his mouth buried between her thighs and hers on his dick, with breaks in between to either talk or hydrate themselves, had Abigail feeling pleasantly relaxed. She had no idea what time they went to bed and glanced at the clock on his nightstand, immediately bolting upright in bed.

"FUCK!"

Scrambling out of bed, Abigail tripped over her shoes and groaned, trying to find her clothes. Stephanie was going to KILL her! She was over an hour late helping prepare breakfast at the common house.

"Shit, shit, shit!"

Since he wasn't using any magic to maintain a look, -he didn't need it with her- he felt no shame whatsoever about crooking a finger and drawing her right back to bed. "I sent word that you were indisposed a few hours ago, darlin'." Taker informed her in a husky, sleep-filled rumble. One day only wouldn't kill her and Stephanie had new girls to train so to speak since she would have to start overseeing more than actually doing the work soon because of her pregnancy and how large she was.

"You really enjoy doing that to me, don't you?" Abigail muttered good-naturedly, once she landed back in bed beside him and turned on her side to stare at him.

Indisposed…anyone with half a brain would know exactly what that meant, even though they hadn't had sex yet. It was bound to happen, especially if he planned on keeping her in bed with him all day. What a delicious thought that was, but Abigail also knew he had obligations to Wonderful. In the sunlight, he was even more beautiful as Abigail stroked his face with her hand and scooted closer to softly kiss his lips.

"I didn't mean to wake you up like that. Sorry." She mumbled against his mouth, laughing when he smacked her backside and pulled her to sprawl over on him again as they continued kissing.

"I've been up off and on for a while now, darlin'." He chuckled, kissing along her jawline. "I'm not used to having someone else in the bed with me anymore." They couldn't spend all day in bed, as much as he'd like too. Eventually, people were going to come knocking to see what the hell he was doing, cooped up in here… and maybe he'd let them inside, and answer the door butt naked.

"Mmm, you could've woken me up and I'd keep you company…" Abigail purred, lifting her head and tilting it slightly as he sat upright with her legs draped on either side of him. "W-We really should start getting up and around…" Seeing him nod in agreement, neither moved from their spot as he continued kissing her neck down her collarbone to her breasts, completely melting against him. She smiled, hearing him mumble 'five more minutes' and slid her fingers through his hair, allowing him to love her all over again. "Five minutes then…"

An hour later, they were in the shower together washing each other and talking about whatever came to mind, the subject of the DOV or Bray never coming up.

It was interesting how easy it was to talk to Abigail. He hadn't felt like this in a long time, just talking and being with someone without feeling overly awkward or hesitant. She had gotten to see more of the faded scars and he had told her the story of how he had gotten them, about Glen. It rang dimly in the back of his mind that, if things went south or she somehow wound up back in Bray Wyatt's clutches, she would have a bit too much information on him, but… Taker also trusted her.

Taker had a lot of information about her as well, such as her upbringing in the foster home and her mother's death. It wasn't easy to talk about, but it was all Abigail really knew since she'd blocked out a lot of the first couple of years in the foster home. The fact those people actually thought BrayWyatt was a devil and punished him for it, all because she had spoken to him…Abigail wished she never would've opened her mouth. Maybe he wouldn't have turned into the monster he was today. Then again, it took a lot more than just abuse at a foster home for 6 years to warp a person the way he was.

They talked about their likes and dislikes, favorite books, music, color, food…all of it. It broke her heart to hear the story about how his brother had died by sacrificing himself to save Taker…and he'd even told where he got his magic from. Abigail trusted him as much as he did, not having a reason to think otherwise. By the time they finally emerged from the tower, it was past noon and he walked with her to the common house, kissing her hand before heading out to take care of his business.

Her foster home had been messed up and, perhaps possessed, or just genuinely evil. Abigail hadn't spoken in years and Bray Wyatt was the first person she did speak to, finally. Instead of rejoicing, they presumed the kid was a demon. That was jacked up and Taker had seen and heard of a lot of horrid stories in his life.

"Oh right there, John…. yeeesssss…." Stephanie was moaning when Abigail finally walked into the common house. She was sitting in a chair, her feet in all their swollen achy glory on her man's thighs while he gave her a foot massage.

Abigail laughed at the look on Johnny's face because it sounded like Stephanie was having an orgasm. She knew all about that now after her night with Taker in his warm, comfortable bed. He grinned up at her while continuing to massage his woman's feet and didn't stop, wanting to stay in her good graces. Stephanie pregnant was scary.

"I'm SO having Steve do that to me tonight."

"I don't blame you there. How are you feeling, anyway?"

"Hell woman, we should be asking YOU that question." Trish's brown eyes gleamed wickedly, knowing where Abigail had slept last night.

Abigail flushed, turning a deep crimson and cleared her throat. "I – um – no comment." Then she FLEW into the kitchen past the blonde to start preparing lunch.

"Oh my god! OH MY FUCKING GOD!" Amy was having a meltdown, storming into the common house, trembling from head to toe and tears were streaming down her cheeks. "T-This isn't happening to me…"

"What's wrong?" Abigail demanded, rushing back out and saw the object in Amy's hand, her eyes widening. "Oh my god…"

It was a pregnancy test…a positive pregnancy test.

"Fuck, we really need more help around here now…"

"There is plenty of hands-on-deck, they just need training." Stephanie rolled her eyes, sharing a grin with John. "Did you all forget Wonderful is filled with hundreds of people?"

"Got some teens looking to start pitching in, couple of pretty strong boys." John offered, grinning when Stephanie flashed him two thumbs up.

"We best get Jeff to check the water. Seems like pregnancy is contagious now." Trish shot Stephanie a wink before turning her attention back to Abigail. "If you don't want to join the ever-growing list, you best get over to Melina and see about birth control."

That was not a bad idea, especially now that three of her friends were all pregnant, one right after the other. "Good idea, on both counts." Abigail cleared her throat, refusing to tell them exactly what happened between her and Taker because it was nobody's business. She hoped he felt the same way and would keep their intimacy private, especially since they hadn't actually done the deed yet. "I'll go over there after we get lunch set out. Steph, why don't you take it easy and relax?" Her feet were really swollen, the poor thing had just a little under 2 months to go until she could pop that kid out.

"Agreed. John, take her home and make her bed rest." Trish held her hand up, in charge when Stephanie wasn't. "We'll start training some of the newbies today. Your feet look like little sausages and that's not good, honey."

"Pregnant…I'm pregnant…and I haven't even told Matt." Amy's eyes snapped up to meet John's. "DO NOT say a WORD to him about this, please!"

"Whoa, calm down little momma, I'm not gonna say a word." This common house was about to turn into pregnancy and hormoneville.

"Stephanie, get in to see Melina." They hadn't even noticed Taker walking in and he crouched down beside her and John, reaching out to feel her forehead. "You're red and flushed, darlin'. John, how often are her feet swollen?"

"Boss, I don't think they've been normal-sized in weeks… but she's always up and running."

"Carry her over, Jeff should be there as well. I want them to monitor her."

"Gestational hypertension?" Stephanie guessed, groaning at the concerned look he gave her.

That had been an issue before; it usually resolved after delivering the baby, but… left unchecked, it could also be fatal for the mother. She had no doubt Taker and the rest would save the baby. They'd done C-sections before and Jeff had improvised assisted breathing machines for preemies.

"Fine… fine, John, carry me."

"Trish," He caught the blonde's arm as soon as John was out the door. "I want an inventory of our medication. Make sure there'll be enough to keep her blood pressure within normal range for the next few months." They had done that raid several months ago and he was foreseeing another soon. "I want to see Steve and Bradshaw. I need maps."

"On it, Taker. Ames, you're in charge."

"But-"

"Abbie can help. Boss, could you?"

"I'll help out today, send the guys here to me."

"I-Is she going to be okay?" Abigail was worried for Stephanie and the baby, her eyes mirroring it, her gaze suddenly snapping to the ladder as Susan came trekking down it.

Amy had to pull herself together, taking a deep breath and nodded, placing a hand on her still flat stomach. "Fine – she'll be fine…"

"Sorry…I must've overslept…"

Susan hadn't slept well due to nightmares and had to keep reminding herself she was safe in Wonderful. Luke Harper wouldn't wake her up in the middle of the night raping her. Everyone had been told to let her sleep as long as necessary, wanting those dark circles to disappear from her eyes.

"Not a problem, sweetie, how do you feel?"

"Thirsty, and hungry."

"Sit down and I'll get you some fruit until lunch is ready." Abigail stepped forward to guide her to a table, smiling reassuringly and saw Taker nod in agreement. "Do you know if you're allergic to anything?"

"N-No…I like bananas though…"

"Got plenty of those. Hang tight, okay?" She walked past Taker to the kitchen to grab Susan a banana, apple, and some milk, needing to put fat on her bones. Susan was way too skinny.

He sat down along with Susan, smiling gently when she gave him a small smile of her own. "You'll get used to it here, Susan." Taker promised, knowing it was going to take her a long time to get used to moving about freely and get comfortable around the men.

For the most part, they didn't have trouble here. Of course, there was crime and they had dealt with a murder or two over the years, a case of rape as well. Taker had been swift but merciful with justice and punishment. Stealing was more of a thing these days and that usually stemmed from when supplies got low and winter was already set in.

"Abbie," She looked so damn concerned, that tray shaking in her hands. "Stephanie will be fine, we know what to do for her, all right, darlin'?"

Locking eyes with him, it took a minute, but Abigail stopped shaking and set the tray in front of Susan without splattering the milk and fruit all over her. That was a win in her book. They had eaten before coming down from the tower, thanks to Taker having a small fridge of his own at his place. It was fruit and water; which Abigail didn't mind because it was healthy. She needed something to give her energy after the numerous activities they'd done the previous night with each other.

"Now eat up."

Susan didn't need to be told twice, digging into the banana with gusto and drank her milk, feeling better than she had in ages. Women in the DOV were fed leftover scraps from dinner unless they were pregnant, then they got their own meal. If there was nothing left, the women tended to go hungry. There was an abundance of them, so losing one or two of starvation wasn't a big deal to the DOV.

'Thank you.' Abigail mouthed to Taker before heading back into the kitchen to help Amy with lunch.

"Trish said you wanted to see us. Hey there, honey." Steve flashed Susan a smile, before dropping down at the table, along with Bradshaw.

Shaw was eyeballing Susan like he had never seen a woman before. Considering Taker had JUST discovered his niece, he wasn't entirely sure he was alright with that ogling from his friend. "Maps, John?"

"Oh yeah, here boss."

How likely would Abbie be in helping him spill coffee on someone, Taker wondered thoughtfully with a snort. "Hospitals that we haven't raided, what do we have?"

"Not much within a few days ride…"

"Abigail!"

She rushed out of the kitchen with wide eyes, clutching her chest at the look on Susan's face and planted her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes. "I'm really busy, so if this isn't important, Susan…"

"It is." Susan smiled serenely and gestured to the map, pointing at a spot on it. "Isn't that where the DOV stores stuff like medicine and supplies for the castle?"

Walking over, Abigail looked down at the map and trailed her finger from where the castle was to the storage facility, remembering Bray showing her this while boasting about his plan at the beginning of the DOV. "Yes. Yes, it's there. They've been raiding towns like you guys and…stocking up for the women…" Whatever they needed for pregnant women was in that facility. "It's huge, four stories and…god, what did he tell me? Something about the serum being stored there, I think…"

"Right, so wouldn't what Stephanie needs, and other women here, be there?"

"Yes…" That place was HEAVILY guarded, however. "It does." Her eyes locked with Taker, worry filling her eyes and already knew he would do what was best for people in Wonderful, especially pregnant women.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"Easier to ride out and find a hospital," Steve said after a long moment. "We already got a tussle coming up with the DOV, no need to provoke them early on."

"It's going to be a ride, we're talking maybe a week there… depends on how far out the DOV has raided too… and no promises on safe spots to stop."

Taker was still trying to process how these two knew of a storage facility that was set apart from the castle, yet couldn't tell him anything about the castle other than 'huge and lots of passages'. "Got to think on this. Mark it, it's something we can look at AFTER we send those fucks packing. Right now, we have all the equipment we need for the year. It's the medicine I'm concerned about. Trish is doing inventory on it now."

"Good." Abigail relaxed a little, the relief washing over her face and reached over the map to grab Susan's hand, squeezing it. "I know you're trying to help, believe me, it's not easy. Let them handle it and come help me in the kitchen."

She guided the young girl with her to the back, glad Taker wasn't running off to provoke the DOV. They had to be careful about this. If they could get their hands on that invisibility cloak and get Malcolm out of the castle, it would be a huge blow to the DOV. For some reason, Taker didn't want to look for more magic to assist them and she couldn't figure out why. Sighing, she asked Susan if she knew how to do the dishes and wasn't surprised to find she could. Chores were a must in the DOV from all women, to learn and prepare them to take care of the babies, except boys, since they were taken from the mother at birth. Her thoughts went back to the magical artifacts Malcolm had mentioned during one of her many eavesdrops and wondered if there was a way to find them.

If he had learned one thing it was this: While useful, a lot of the misery in the world was due to magic. The rise of DOV soldiers, Bray's ability to spread like wildfire in as short a time as he had over Vesperia. That was all thanks to magic. If they could do this with what they had, and his own magic, he would very happily see the magical line die with him and Malcolm.

"Problem with this, boss… is you haven't been away from Wonderful for that length of time in years…"

Taker groaned, nodding his head. "I… will think on it." He had a solution to that problem, but it was a onetime deal because he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to do the same trick twice. And he had been hoping to use it to breach the DOV's actual walls, but then again… that was risky as hell too.

Stop being stupid, stop being crazy and just let him do what needs to be done, Abigail mentally chastised herself, hating that she'd gotten extremely close to Taker in a very short amount of time. This wasn't good. He was supposed to be the hope, the driving force, to eliminate the DOV once and for all. Here she was screwing it all up because of feelings! Now wasn't the time to have a romance, how many times did she have to remind herself of that? Falling in love was NOT an option because there was a very big chance neither of them survived. Having sex was one thing, but she had to take the feelings out of it and wasn't sure if that was possible. What if having sex made her feelings for him grow? She wanted him to be the one to take her virginity, there was no question about that, but…Abigail didn't know what the future awaited between them and it scared her a bit.

"Boss, Trish is still inventorying, but I can tell you now, she has gestational hypertension. I know we have some Labetalol, which is safe for her to use, safe for the baby too, but I don't know how much."

"We don't have anything else?"

"Blood pressure medication? Well sure, but we don't know if it's safe for her to use right now." Melina said with a frown. "I'm sorry, but Jeff and I aren't really doctors. We learned this stuff out of books and…"

"Trial and error." Taker pinched the bridge of his nose. "So, Steph needs to take these pills daily and cut back on activity?"

"She doesn't need to be running the common house. She needs exercise sure, a lack of activity could make it worse, but too much… and the stress, that'll lead to a stroke or a heart attack."

"Fuck all."

Overhearing that cemented what Abigail planned on doing to prevent pregnancy. There was no way she was having a baby, preferably ever, not after seeing what these women endured. Walking out, leaving Susan for a minute, she walked up to Melina and asked for a minute of her time.

"What's up, Abbie?" They were outside of the common house and out of earshot of the men.

"After lunch and cleanup, I'm gonna come by for a shot. Trish said it's to prevent pregnancy and I'm not taking any chances if I decide to go that route."

Melina smiled, not blaming her and nodded, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'll have a shot waiting for you. Just come by when you can."

"Thanks, how's Stephanie?"

"Bitching about having to stay off her feet." Melina chuckled, shrugging because it was normal for women to have gestational diabetes, hypertension, whatever one wanted to call it, during pregnancy. Usually meant a girl was on the way since boys very rarely caused it, according to books she'd read.

"Okay, tell her I'm thinking of her and if she needs anything, don't hesitate to ask, if you see her."

"Will do." Melina headed back to the medical wing while Abigail went to continue making lunch for everyone.

He had dismissed the others and, since Abigail and Susan were the only ones in the common house, Taker had stuck around to help. Starting with moving tables around while Susan took a broom to the floors, Taker put everything back after she finished. "Abbie, you need help in the kitchen?" He asked once Susan was finished, eyeballing his niece. "You need to go lay down, Susan."

She was looking a lot better, but… she would need a bit more rest and some fattening food because she was tiny. Was Abigail the only one in the DOV, female, who hadn't been starved like that? He could only imagine the guilt issues she must have, knowing she'd had a somewhat honored position, privileged, compared to the other women.

Chicken nuggets with a bunch of French fries and a piece of fruit were on the menu for lunch. They had a fryer back here, which was a lifesaver because it only took a couple of minutes at a time to fry the frozen food. Wonderful was stocked full of frozen foods due to all the raiding they did to other abandoned towns.

"If you wouldn't mind getting the paper plates down along with the cups and silverware. Amy and I are about done in here with the food."

She had poked her head out of the kitchen, saw how tired Susan was, and agreed with Taker as he gently nudged her to the ladder she had to climb to get to her bed. Abigail did feel incredibly guilty because she'd been fed and treated like a queen compared to the other women, only because of who the leader of the DOV was. She knew if she'd never met Bray and was a random girl in one of the many towns they took over, she probably wouldn't be here right now. That was why if she had to give her life up in order to liberate the people from DOV and destroy it, she would in a heartbeat.

Taker nodded and went about what she had asked him to do, ignoring the curious looks Amy was giving him. Amy… pregnant. That was just weird. His fiery redhead hadn't been overly pleased with the idea of ever having babies in this world, so how in the hell had that happened? He figured later on he'd get a word in with her, make sure she was going to be alright.

"Hey, you look tired too, Abbie." He observed when she was done with the nuggets and her tiredness looked like it was emotional stuff. "You alright?"

"I'm fine."

Abigail couldn't dive deeper into her despair because it wouldn't solve anything, it wouldn't help anyone. She had to keep pushing forward, no matter how hard it was and hopefully, this would end sooner rather than later. Bray would come for her, and she planned on making sure he knew there would be no heirs and there wouldn't be taking each other's virginity. It was the ONE thing she wanted to take away from him, that option, to rip it away from him and watch his heart crumble into dust like he'd done to her so many times. She plastered on a fake smile for everyone, beginning to put the plates on the serving platter and walked out while Amy took over that task. Abigail wasn't pregnant, she was, and she'd already had to stop 4 times to vomit.

"Okay, get the hell out."

"I got this."

"Go. People are bitchin' about the smell, Red." Taker took the next few trays from her, balancing them on either hand. "I'm not kidding, get out, go get some fresh air. Drink some water, go see Melina. Just get away from the food."

Sighing, Amy threw her hands up into the air in exasperation and walked out. Pregnant, how the HELL had that happened?

"That poor girl…"

Abigail couldn't wait until lunch was served and the cleanup finished so she could get that shot from Melina. These women were nuts not to use protection, but then again, maybe they had, and the shot hadn't worked. It wasn't 100% effective for a reason. Groaning inwardly, Abigail tried focusing on serving the food and managed not to spill anything, nodding at the appreciation she received. People were wondering why Taker was here helping serve everyone, but nobody questioned it since Trish was still taking inventory of the medicine they had for Stephanie and the other pregnant women. Surprisingly, there was only one other woman pregnant in the entire town, besides Trish and Amy, who hadn't started showing, only having the symptoms.

"Okay, finally…" Abigail wiped the sweat from her forehead, glad Taker had braided her hair back before leaving the tower and brought the final tray into the back. They would eat and then clean up would commence.

"Take a break and eat." Taker ordered, wondering what had gotten into her. She seemed… hesitant and determined all at once. Taker reached out to gently grab Abigail by the arms. They were in the kitchen, so he wasn't overly concerned with being spotted and pulled her against him, bending down to brush his lips against her forehead. "What's the matter, Abbie?" He asked quietly, putting enough space between them, so he could see her face.

She hated how well he could read her, even as she tried putting on a smile for everyone and getting the job done. "I'm an idiot, that's what's the matter." Looking up into his eyes, her bottom lip trembled as tears filled her eyes, trying like hell not to let them fall. "Why? Why can't I…Why doesn't this work with you, but it did with Bray? He could NEVER tell when I lied to him. He could never tell when…when I was hiding something! I thought I had it down to a science, but with you…it doesn't work. It doesn't happen. You can read me like a book and it's not that I WANT to hide stuff from you, but…I feel guilty, okay? I feel guilty for being, for feeling, happy for the first time in my life and it's because of you. Look at Susan, look at all the pain the DOV has, and keeps causing and I'm partially responsible for it because I followed Bray blindly. I don't deserve this. I don't deserve to feel happy, not when so many others are suffering right now. It's not fair. Damn it…"

Abigail turned away from him to wipe her tears away, letting out a shuddering breath and made sure to keep her voice down to where only he could hear her. They could eat their lunch right here in the kitchen. Taker pulled her to the table that he knew Stephanie used as a baking station, clearing them a section. He made them up each a plate, setting one down in front of her before dropping down into the other wooden chair, sighing.

"You want to know why it doesn't work with me, Abbie?" He reached out, brushing away another tear. "Because he was looking to be lied too, I'm not. Any man who justifies the shit he does, the way he does, is looking to be lied to. He just doesn't consciously realize it."

Abigail wasn't hungry, her appetite gone, and just had to learn how to breathe, wondering if he was right. Was Taker correct in the assumption Bray had been looking to be lied to? If that was the case, he had to know she was deceiving him the whole time…and that wasn't practical. Or maybe he was truly blind to the amount of pain and suffering he caused in Vesperia.

"I've never…experienced being happy, or felt what it's like to be happy, until last night. I was constantly fighting to survive, keeping my thoughts to myself and biding my time to escape the castle. I can't remember feeling a glimmer of happiness except maybe when we first left the foster home. That was very short-lived though because we were on the streets and thought we would die some nights. To this day, I STILL don't know why people buy into his religious bullshit. He's had a lot of followers, believe it or not, who actually believe what he preaches, how he's the only one to deliver them." Without realizing it, she began eating fries while talking, not doing it with her mouth full because that was gross and impolite.

There wasn't a doubt in his mind he wasn't right about Bray Wyatt. Now that he knew the man's backstory, how he had grown up, the abuse he had suffered as a child… well, any man who came from that kind of background and then used it as justification for what was happening now, which was way worse, that person was looking to be lied to by everyone. Lover. Friends. Anyone who didn't want to wind up with their head on a pole was lying and Wyatt either knew and didn't care or he was just that blinded by his past and the rage.

"Most of them are men, aren't they?" At her nod, he returned it. "Hate to say it, but men as a whole, we're pigs, darlin'. And look at that setup they got. They get to fight and fuck, without anything else to weigh 'em down. Men rule the world, and the world tends to go to shit."

"There are more women in the castle than men, and I know it bothers him a lot, which is why he's adamant about using Mythril to enhance the serum. Not only does the serum make the babies grow very fast, but it also speeds up the pregnancies. There's been some women that have died because…they couldn't handle the serum…" Abigail explained softly, feeling her stomach rumble and could see the disgust in Taker's eyes. Not that she blamed the man – what Bray was doing was unethical and wrong, defying the laws of nature. "If the women could fight back, which they won't because they're terrified, they would take down the army with no problem and could liberate themselves. It won't happen though because Bray has made sure to have his men instill fear into them. And as long as Malcolm remains under his thumb, there's no way to stop the serum production because he's the ONLY one who can make it. That's why I know he'll never get rid of Malcolm…Bray will just punish him and anyone close to him to get what he wants."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

That was why Susan was here and presumed dead. He had thought Bray Wyatt was a tactical genius, obviously not. The man should have locked Susan away and used her that way, not had her tongue removed, publicly raped, and then supposedly killed. He was going to lose his sorcerer.

"You've seen Mythril in a solid form. Mythril is a… mineral, I guess, I'm not sure. But I know it has magical properties, we usually just use it for weapons. They don't break, bend, aim is usually true, and it's a quick death." He said finally. "But none of us study magic. And when it comes time to smelt it, I'm the only one who can handle it because it is dangerous to breathe in the fumes."

"So, it can be used for anything, really. Not just weapons, but you're the only one who can handle the fumes because of your magic?" Abigail summarized, sounding thoughtful and leaned back in her chair, her mind going back to the magic artifacts Malcolm had mentioned. Would he be angry with her if she went out on her own to retrieve some of them? Taker couldn't leave Wonderful unprotected and he was too valuable, whereas he wasn't. "We need more power. And getting Malcolm out is going to be very risky, but it also needs to happen. Are disguises and putting up a barrier around Wonderful the extent of your magic, or can you do other things with it? Could the Mythril maybe enhance them and make them stronger or something?"

"If you think it can be used for anything else then you know more than me." Taker said, popping a piece of fruit in his mouth. "I already told you, we don't study magic here. Magic hasn't really done the world much good, now has it?" He was beginning to notice she had a reliance on magic, or a belief that leaned towards cure-all. No doubt from spending way too much time with the DOV. "As for the extent of my magic… I can leave Wonderful and leave it protected in my absence, if I really must."

"Something tells me that wouldn't be easy for you to do though."

Abigail could tell he was solely against magic, or anything to do with it, which probably stemmed from Malcolm being his father. Glen was the one who knew all about the magic, who took after their father, while Mark was more like his mother and didn't want anything to do with it. This was getting them nowhere and Abigail felt more helpless than ever, chomping on another fry. Mythril had magical properties, which meant it could be used for more than just forging weapons. With Stephanie and the other conditions throughout Wonderful, wasn't it possible to transform it into a medicine of some kind? They would need Malcolm for that – Malcolm was the key to everything, it seemed. Suddenly, a lightbulb flicked on in her brain and Abigail felt him take her hand, staring into his eyes.

"Can you change the disguise of someone else besides yourself?" If they did that and went to the DOV to get Malcolm out, both with disguises, it could work, if done right.

"No. Just myself." It wasn't for lack of trying. Taker and Steve had some interesting thoughts about that very possibility and he frowned, staring at her. "Why?" Taker listened to her thoughts, about getting Malcolm out of the DOV, and his frown deepened. "Which is it, Abigail? Last night you didn't know any layouts or anything about the passageways, so how do you think we're going to get Malcolm out?" He wasn't sneaking into the DOV HQ for one person and she was going against what she had said last night. If he went, if any of them went, it was for all or nothing.

"You said it yourself, nobody has any knowledge of the studies of magic in Wonderful, but Malcolm does. I don't know the passageways of the castle, that's true. However, if you could disguise me like you and we go in as soldier and…a breeder," That left a horrible taste in her mouth to call the women of the DOV that term. "Nobody would bat an eyelash." Abigail knew this would take a great deal of trust on Taker's part because it would just be them going, nobody else." There's a lot of soldiers and women all over the place, so we'd blend right in. I know exactly where Malcolm's chambers are too. Malcolm is the one who got Susan out, so he must know which passageway to take to escape. I'm sure Malcolm can turn the Mythril into medicine for Stephanie and anyone else that needs it, different medicine for different problems. If that happens, there would be a huge supply of it. Maybe you could use the Mythril to…enhance your magic somehow, even for a little while, since it has magical properties and it'll give you enough juice to give us both disguises. It means leaving Wonderful, but you have great men here who will protect and, since Bray thinks I'm on his side, he's not going to attack right away. I told him a couple of months, it's only been one month, so we have a little leeway with time." She could see the doubt in his eyes with this plan, but Abigail wouldn't give up until he at least took the time to think things over. "I know you don't like magic and you think it's destroyed the world, but…magic might be the only way to save the world too, Taker."

"Last night you were very much against me leaving Wonderful," He reminded her gently. "Enough to speak out against me when I suggested sneaking into the castle and attacking then. Now, you want me to not only disguise myself, but you, and…. sneak in." He was having a hard time swallowing that, unable to push down the doubt that nagged the back of his mind. "As for Stephanie, she'll be fine for a bit and you are presuming a bit much about the uses of magic. You do realize, if our women were to drink something with Mythril in it, we don't know what the long terms effects are, or if magic will get another shot at playing with genetics?" Just when he thought he understood her, Abigail knocked him for another loop. "I will think on it, Abigail, but I can't give you an answer at this very moment."

"Because I was thinking with my heart and not my brain. I can't let my feelings interfere with what needs to be done. Saving Malcolm is the right thing to do, you were right, but you don't know the castle and neither do your men. You would go in blind, but if you went in with someone who has lived there for the past 10 years and who knows exactly where Malcolm is located, disguised, it would be a lot easier. We only need one passageway and since Malcolm saved Susan, he knows which one to take to get out of there with hopefully no problems. It's a risk, it's a HUGE risk and I know it's not a hop, skip and jump to get there either." Standing, Abigail bent down to brush her lips against his, since they weren't seen by a bunch of people and rested her forehead against his. "As for the Mythril, if anyone can make sure it's perfectly safe for everyone to take, once it's converted, it's Malcolm. He is the best at what he does." For god's sake, the man gave his own granddaughter a MAGICAL hysterectomy and replaced her tongue. "Thank you for thinking about it and listening to me. I won't bring it up again, but at least you know what's on my mind." Abigail felt marginally better, the weight lifted from her shoulders and began cleaning up the mess in the kitchen.

In all honesty, at this very moment, he thought Abigail was an idiot. However, he also knew that was in this moment and, once he was able to go think it through, his opinion would likely change. Last night, he had wanted to get in and been met with arguments about too many passages. Taker hadn't wanted to argue because the moment she opened her mouth, everyone jumped on board and, as much as he may have disagreed with an opinion, this was not a dictatorship. All they needed was ONE passage in, and he had a lot of men and a lot of weaponry. If Malcolm realized they were there, he doubted the old man would assist Wyatt.

"Overly. Complicated." He muttered, pushing himself upright and headed out of the common house.

It was time to go think about this.

After the common house was cleaned up and everyone fed from lunch, Abigail made her way upstairs to check on Susan, who was sleeping peacefully. She smiled, bending down to stroke the girl's cheek and covered her up before dropping a kiss on her forehead. Then, she left her be and headed back down the ladder to head out of the common house toward the medical wing. Time for that birth control shot – no babies for Abigail, not now and possibly not ever. After witnessing several horrendous births in the DOV, Abigail wanted nothing to do with motherhood. She stepped inside the medical wing and smiled at Melina rocking her son in a nearby rocking chair, wondering if this was a bad time.

"I-I can come back…" She spoke quietly.

"No, no it's fine. Let me just put him down." When Davey went down, nothing could wake him up until he was ready, just like his Daddy. "Here for your shot?"

"Yeah."

"When was your last period?"

"I just got over it a few days ago."

"Okay, that should be fine then. It probably won't kick in right away, so keep that in mind."

"Okay." Abigail winced when the shot was administered in her arm, the serum pushed into her system that would stop her from having babies. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." Melina slapped a band-aid on her arm. "Stephanie is fine, I know you were worried about her. As long as the stubborn woman stays off her feet and rests for the remainder of her pregnancy, she'll be fine."

Abigail breathed a sigh of relief, nodding. "Thanks for telling me." Then she headed out, so Melina could take care of her son and other medical obligations, deciding to walk around Wonderful for a bit to clear her head.

For the most part, Wonderful was very much like any other town pre-DOV war and revolution. It'd had all the modern things, and still did, in parts of it. Over the years, a lot of the houses and buildings had been ransacked for materials and supplies, or even torn down to repair the buildings that were actually used. Wonderful had housed thousands of people over the years, and the center of the town was still the focus, with housing spreading out from it. Wonderful still had its slums though, areas that were safe enough during the day, but at night, Taker had to have patrols go through every few hours, just because crime was still an issue.

"You are, uh, ne-ewwww," A voice sing-songed at Abigail, who in her wanderings had come into said slums. A blue-eyed man with shaggy hair had stepped into a doorway to watch her, an amused grin curving his lips.

"Yeah, I am."

Abigail smiled back at him, not sensing danger or else she would've hightailed it back across Wonderful. However, she didn't know this was the 'slums' even though it did look a little…rougher around the edges. She hadn't had a chance to really explore Wonderful much since arriving and figured, if Taker took her up on her offer with her plan, they would be leaving shortly. The blue-eyed man gestured her over and she obliged, wondering what kind of place this was. On the outside, it said **SHIELD** in bold letters, so it had to be some kind of business. The man with the shaggy hair wore black cargo pants and a sleeveless tight top, showing off his muscular arms. He was a good-looking man, but nothing compared to Taker.

He also wasn't as boring and straight-laced as Taker, not that this ebony-haired beauty would know anything about that. "I'm Dean."

He stepped out of the door and into the street, extending a hand to her, eyes sweeping over her and took in the telltale scent of… rolls. The common house had always smelled like rolls. He was betting money she was Stephanie's new monkey.

"Dean Ambrose, and you are…?"

She shook his hand with a soft smile, his eyes more captivating now that he was closer. They were electric blues, a lot lighter than Bray's, which were darker. His hair hung in his face somewhat, and he had a boyish look about him. He towered over her 5'6 frame, standing well over 6 feet and he was thin, muscular, and thin.

"Abigail. Abigail Waters, but most people just call me Abbie." She released his hand, sliding her hands in the back pockets of her shorts, and looked past him up at the building. "What is this place, Dean?"

"This?" He turned to look up at the building, shrugging. "Way back when I guess it was a place you'd come and get a bodyguard or something. I don't know. Just liked the name, so I kept it." Well, that was a 'we', but… "So, Abbie… what brings you to this part of Wonderful?" He asked, stepping towards her with a grin, though he did halt a respectable distance away. "Ah watch it, babe." Dean grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the way as a group of kids on bicycles came flying by.

Her body crashed against his as he pulled her to safety, guiding her toward the building and out of the street. "Thanks…" She gently pulled away from him, feeling somewhat embarrassed that happened. "I haven't really had a chance to venture around the place and figured I'd go for a walk to explore a bit." That sounded lame even to her ears, but it was truthful enough. "The name isn't bad. Shield. It sounds like a bodyguard type place." For some reason, she was curious about this man and felt drawn to him, clasping her hands in front of her. "So, what do you do now, Dean? Are you a bodyguard or did you change what type of business you run?"

"Not really much of a need for bodyguards in Wonderful, Abs." He retorted with a snort, reaching into a pocket of his black cargoes for a pack of cigarettes, offering the pack to her first. When she shook her head no, he bent his head down, coming back up with a hand-rolled cigarette between his lips. "Our fearless leader keeps it safe, don'tcha know?" His tone was relatively polite, but there was a hint of mockery underlying it. "Nope," Dean flashed a silver lighter, a flame, a long drag and with a click, the lighter was gone. "I'mma jack of all trades. Today, I'm your escort." He grinned at her. "If you want to see the other side of Wonderful, not the main square and um, the… monkeys." Because the people who lived up near the main square were usually associated with Taker in some way shape or form.

"A jack of all trades, huh?"

Bray smoked as well, which was a disgusting habit to Abigail, but she knew better than to say anything to him. This man reminded her a lot of Bray…the good parts anyway. She smirked back at him, folding her arms in front of her chest and arched a brow, midnight blues full of amusement. Dean was a breath of fresh air, someone who wasn't as tense and quiet – Undertaker had a presence about him that was both alluring and terrifying at the same time. Not that Abigail was afraid of him or anything, but that was just the type of aura he had.

"And why would you waste your time being my escort? Don't you have something more important to do?"

"Nah, it's a slow day, doll." Dean laughed, blowing a smoke ring over her head. His tobacco was laced with dried mint; he liked his nicotine with a side of something that didn't smell horrible and it was as close to menthol as he was getting these days. "Besides, escorting a beautiful woman around… what man doesn't want to do that?" Reaching up to push his hair back from his face, he offered his arm to her. "C'mon, I'll show you where the 'wonder' in Wonderful comes from."


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Outside of that main square was a whole new town that newcomers didn't always get to know. Electric blues watched as she debated it before finally tucking her hand in the crook of his elbow and then led her down the street. Being sheltered in the castle, Abigail never got to experience or see the outside world, so this was quite a treat. She knew Wonderful was huge, but that word didn't do it justice. All she'd done was stuck to the front of the town, near the gates and common house, the tower where Taker resided…but there truly was so much more to Wonderful. The streets were bustling with life, vendors out trying to make a quick trade or whatever since money wasn't necessary anymore.

"Oh wow…" Dean pointed out a few buildings to her, explaining the history and Abigail concluded he had been here a long time. "Where are you from originally, Dean?" She asked curiously, once they stopped at a vendor with food and Dean had taken care of the transaction. "Or have you lived in Wonderful your whole life?"

Dean considered her for a moment, having stopped at a street vendor who served up some delicious walking tacos and gestured for two orders. "Now Abs, that's information you got to come back and see me again for." He teased, turning to take her food and held it out to her, cocking an eyebrow when she seemed surprised. "What? You don't like this?" He took his, and started rifling in pockets. "Benny, you wanna put it on my tab?"

"Oh yeah, sure, Ambrose…" The vendor rolled his eyes. "Pass it over." He held out his hand.

Shrugging, Dean pulled a small vial out of one of his pockets and slapped it into that waiting palm. "Not promising it's gonna take care of that bald spot…" He smirked, leading Abigail off.

What was that vial full of, Abigail wondered, continuing to walk with him while eating her taco. It was surprisingly delicious, and she didn't realize how hungry she was until she devoured the whole order. Granted, her appetite for lunch had been dwindled due to her tense conversation with Taker, so she hadn't eaten much. Hell, since she came to Wonderful, she didn't have much of an appetite in general.

"Thank you for the food, Dean." She threw her garbage away in a nearby trashcan, refusing to liter since the streets were…somewhat cluttered plastic bottles and whatnot. "So, do you do this with every new woman you come across or am I special case?" Abigail grinned, eyes sparkling under the sunlight. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky and warm.

"Babe, you're breaking my heart here." Dean laughed, having long finished his food. He was a big man with a big appetite. "Do I look like the kind of guy to woo every beautiful woman I come across?" She was giving him a look and Dean couldn't keep the sparkle of amusement out of his eyes, wrapping his arm around her shoulders playfully. "I promise, from here on out, Abs, my eyes are only for you. Oh hey, c'mon, down this way is the amusement area, so to speak. You'll love it. You old enough to remember parks? There's a park."

Dean was quite the charmer, that was for sure, and she found herself laughing at his boyish antics. "Uh huh, sure." Her tone was just as playful and implied she didn't believe him for second regarding being the only woman he had his eyes on.

There was no way. He was a handsome man and probably a HUGE playboy. Her eyes lit up however when he mentioned the park and Abigail could remember the very small playground her school had when she was a lot younger.

"Really? Does it have swings?" The smile on her face grew at his nod and Abigail suddenly became excited. "I haven't been to a park in…ages." She sounded wistful, somewhat missing the old days, minus the beatings Bray had endured.

Shops that worked in bikes, skates, and old-school boards. Toymakers along with an old arcade, off the way, which was run on a generator and a few buckets of old quarters the kids used freely to play while the sun was out. This made up some of the other part of Wonderful Abigail hadn't seen until now. Dean took great delight in showing Abigail this part of Wonderful, finally stepping off the street and heading towards the park.

"See the wall?" He pointed off into the distance, at the giant masonry wall Taker had built in the early days. "And beyond this is the land they use for gardens, and I think on the far side to your left, people raise animals and shit. But this is what we want," Dean stopped and turned her to the right, where really old iron gates led to what had been a huge park back in the day. It was a lot smaller now, but the swings were still there, maintained, and he just loved the giant metal merry-go-round.

There was an old metal slide as well as a set of monkey bars. It reminded her a lot of the school's playground when she was in elementary school, her hand sliding up the pole attached to the swing set. Swings were always her favorite part of the playground. It was one of the only good memories she had from her childhood, those days when her and Bray would play at school, but then the nightmares would unfold once they were back in the foster home.

Testing the weight of the swing, Abigail sat on it and heard the slight creaking sound from the chains, glad they hadn't snapped off. Dean started pushing her, making her laugh as she pumped her legs to get more velocity while he took the one beside her and began swinging as well. After they did that for a bit, he guided her over by the hand to the merry-go-round, spinning it around as fast as he could while she held on and hopped on once it was at the speed, her squeals filling the air.

Dean didn't come to the park much because… adulting sucked sometimes, but… he made a mental note to do it more often, if she was with him. There was something very innocent and almost childlike with Abigail, wistful, and… sad. He sat on the merry-go-round with her, enjoying the breeze whipping in his face and flashed her a genuine smile. Reaching out with his arm to steady her when she rocked into him, he laughed at her squeals.

"Now THAT was a lot of fun!"

Abigail felt a lot lighter after doing something as simple as playing in a park with Dean, having a feeling Taker would never do something like this. It wasn't his style, and he was the leader of Wonderful, so he had a lot of responsibilities and obligations. Dean was…carefree and had such a beautiful spirit, at least that's what she saw. If he was putting up on a front with her, he was damn good at it. Through the ivy that had taken over the gate surrounding this place, Abigail saw the livestock in the far distance and figured that was where the milk, cheese and other fresh foods, including meat, came from.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Dean. I needed this, to clear my mind and you helped do that."

"You do look a lot less stressed, babe." He commented, studying her thoughtfully, now guiding her along the old fence that bordered the park. "When I saw you walking down the street, coming my way, you looked like you had a lot on your mind." Dean caught her nod from the corner of his eye and pushed open the gate, gesturing at her to follow him, heading towards the barns. "Follow me, pretty sure some fluffy ass ducks hatched not too long ago." He liked ducks.

"Ducks? Really?"

She did NOT peg Dean as a duck loving type or an animal lover, in general. Never judge a book by its cover, she mentally chastised herself, following him down the path from the park that opened up into a big lake. Why hadn't anyone mentioned all of this to her? The water looked safe enough, but since nobody else was swimming in it, she figured it was used for a purpose. Not paying attention to where she was walking, Abigail tripped and nearly fell in the lake, only for Dean to catch her at the last second, his arm wrapped around her waist.

"Christ!" She clutched her chest, feeling him pull her back and felt as if her heart would explode out of her chest. "T-Thank you. Holy shit, that could've been bad…"

"Uh yeah, probably, this is one of Hardy's pet projects. Look," Dean held her steady, keeping his arm firmly wrapped around Abigail, holding her to his side as he pointed at a series of pipes at the far end. "They have to purify it before it can be used for drinking. Did you know the bottled water here in Wonderful comes from this lake? There's an underground spring that feeds it, and… there are fish in there." Taker had rules about fishing however, there was a 'season', something about ensuring they didn't over fish the lake and ruin a food supply. Dean smiled slightly, the impish gleam coming back into his eyes as he stared down at her. "Now, if you ever feel like swimming, I know a spot."

"No, I didn't know that. I really don't know much about this place, actually. Thank you for saving my ass, again." She'd been here a month and had stuck to the common house and workout room, never straying. Why she decided to stray and explore today of all days…Abigail needed a change of scenery and new people, for some reason. "That would be great, especially in this heat." He nodded in agreement as they kept walking toward the barn that was in the far distance. "So, there's two sides to Wonderful, because I've never seen you or any of these people up front near the gates. Is there a reason for that?"

"First, there's more than two sides to Wonderful, babe, you'll just have to come visit me again and I'll show them to you."

He chuckled, pulling her along the lake shore towards an old cluster of willow trees where they could sit out of the sun and enjoy the breeze coming off the water. Once there, he dropped down on a very old, large rock, smoothed down by time and patted the spot next to him. She sat, and he found his grin widening.

"And… I go up there, now and again, when I need something I can't find in the other wards. You've probably seen a lot of the people from these areas up in the market buying or selling, but… Wonderful has a lot of residents. You can't be expected to remember all their faces. Now, let me ask you something, Abs, you ever notice all the people up there are connected to, or working for Taker in some fashion?"

Now that she thought about it, what he said was the truth. Stephanie, Trish, Amy, Steve, Johnny, John, Ron…a few others she couldn't remember the names of. "I never gave it much thought, but yeah…now that you've pointed it out to me, it seems like he has a tight knit group…"

The rock was comfortable enough and the breeze felt amazing blowing through her hair, even though it was still braided back. Hell, even back at the castle in the DOV, Bray had his tight knit group of soldiers and the rest were just fodder, as far as he was concerned. Luke and Erick were the perfect examples, his right-hands.

"Why is that, Dean?" She moved her gaze from the water to look up at him, furrowing her brows questioningly.

"I don't know." Dean procured another cigarette, making sure he kept it away from her. He had noticed she wasn't very fond of them. Staring back down at her, his blue eyes were thoughtful. "Guess he can't be friendly with all of us, right? I know some of us don't, uh, always agree with his rules…." Like him, for example, and his tone made it clear he was one of those people. "But this is a good place, so we have to suck it up and deal with it." Now he sounded amused, and he was, because there were ways of working around Taker's rules.

"I suppose not…"

Abigail didn't know how to feel about Dean's tone when it came to Taker, especially since she'd been intimate with the man. She should've been defending Taker instantly, but…something held her back and she didn't understand what it was. Granted, she knew the rules were in place for a reason, to keep everyone safe, but Abigail didn't know what all they involved, only that the gates were shut at night and there was a magical barrier in place to make Wonderful impenetrable.

"Why don't you like his rules? Are they really that difficult?" Maybe she could get an outside perspective to the type of man Taker was since she hardly knew him.

"Mmm, depends, I guess. I'm a difficult man, I guess." Dean's smile didn't quite reach his eyes as he studied her. "You're getting in that circle of his, aren't you, babe?" He asked quietly, a bit bothered by that actually. "Why is that?" She asked him a lot of questions, but she hadn't really told him much about her, at least not verbally. Her facial expressions and tones were telling him quite a bit, however.

"Maybe? I don't know." Frankly, Abigail didn't think she was part of that group because they didn't trust her, for obvious reasons. "I don't think I am though, honestly. They don't trust me…and I understand why to an extent, but I've also been honest with them about everything. It's just…frustrating, I guess. I feel alone here, and helpless because I know what needs to be done, but nobody will take the leap, the jump, the risk." Maybe she was wrong about Taker being the savior of her people, the hope. "And for the record, you don't seem that bad, Ambrose." Abigail nudged him playfully with her arm, cracking a smile at him. "There shouldn't be circles and tight knit groups, not when it comes to running an entire town like this. Everyone should be treated equally, but that's just my opinion."

"Oh man, I bet Taker hates having you around!" Dean started laughing, slapping his knee with mirth as he took her in. She looked so confused and he leaned down to kiss her forehead, a loud, smacking kiss. "Babe, babe, babe…" He shook his head, took a pull off his cigarette and began laughing again. "God… you know what needs to be done, huh? Lemme guess, Taker says no because it wasn't his idea, right? Or it involves magic? I bet it's both, you got that look on your face, Abs. I love that look."

"Okay…"

Now Abigail was a little wigged out and stood up from the rock, distancing herself from him with guarded eyes. As far as she knew, nobody outside of that meeting in the tower was aware of who she truly was. How did this man know about magic if he wasn't in Taker's circle? Wouldn't that be something Taker kept under wraps? Just who was this Dean Ambrose and what was his game?


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"Do you know who I am?" She demanded, narrowing her eyes, and folded her arms in front of her chest. "And how do you know about magic? Who are you?" Her guard was completely up now, the friendly and playful tone in her voice gone.

"Well, up until a second ago, I would have said a really awesome woman. Now I'm a bit concerned that you're either crazy or… crazy," Dean said, not overly bothered with how she had gone from relaxed and cool to kind of paranoid and crazy. "I'm Dean Ambrose, the guy you've been hanging with all day," He half-bowed, taking another drag before stubbing out his cigarette on the rock, hopping up to approach her. "Babe, don't you know anything about this place? It ain't no secret that Taker hates magic. It's stupid as fuck, considering he USES it, but…" He shrugged nonchalantly. "Them's the brakes. Now, your turn. Who ARE you? Because obviously, doll, you're someone fairly important or…. you're kinda… mmm, I don't want to say dumb, Abs, because you're not, but you are, get my meaning?" She was so adorable. He reached out to brush a strand of her ebony hair out of her face. "Magic isn't a secret in Wonderful. So… where are YOU from where apparently, it's all hush-hush, and Who. Are. You, Miss Paranoid?"

"No one. I'm no one."

She was leaving it at that and it was time to go. She had overstayed her welcome and decided she wouldn't be going exploring again around Wonderful. Maybe she was a little on the crazy side, but that's what happened to a person who was sheltered as much as she was and had endured what she had. Bray had never harmed her physically, or let anyone else do it, but mentally and emotionally she was a wreck.

"I-I wasn't aware magic was a topic around here. Like I said, I don't know much about this place…" Dean began circling her slowly, like a predator and Abigail kept her eyes on him, waiting to see if he would try anything. "I need to head back, sorry for freaking out on you." She began walking away and gasped when he grabbed her by her upper arm, pulling her back against him as their eyes met. "Dean, please…"

"I don't get you, Abigail." His grip on her wasn't all that tight, he didn't want to hurt her after all. "You are someone." Dean meant that, not in the 'you must be very important, like royalty' way, but she was someone to him. "How do you not know about this place, but you seemed so sure earlier that you were saying you knew what needed to be done?" She had been cautious of him, her shackles raised, but she was the one making all these weird comments. Dean had to wonder about her and where her mind was at. "Where is it you're heading back to, babe? Common house? Someone's house? Come with me back to my place, I'll cook for ya, okay?" He didn't think they had had such a bad time together. Maybe it was his breath. Dean stepped back, shaking his head and then ran a hand through his shaggy curls. "Sorry, Abs, I know I can be pushy."

"I-I don't trust easily…"

Abigail frowned, the ball of guilt forming in her gut at how she'd treated him and jumped the gun with accusations. He was a nice guy, what was her problem? All he'd done for her today, being her escort and showing her more of Wonderful, something Taker hadn't offered…was she really THAT paranoid not to see someone doing something nice for her?

"I'm sorry, Dean." She murmured, walking up to him and touched his face with her hand, his eyes meeting hers. "You're not pushy. You're right, I shouldn't have said half the things I did. I'm just…you're easy to talk to and I'm frustrated, it's not you, it's me. I can't tell you who I am, not yet, okay?" That secret had to be kept close to the chest for the time being. "If you want to cook for me, lead the way and I'll come with you…and we can talk some more."

Dean studied her thoughtfully, cocking his head to the side and pursed his lips, finally blowing out. "So you ARE someone then, huh?" She pinched her lips together and he chuckled. "Go ahead and keep your secrets, we do, don't we?" He draped his arm around her shoulder again, turning her towards the barns. "You like eggs? I love eggs, let's go get some eggs, and I'll make you breakfast for supper. We even got real butter. Get some meat on those…" Dean stopped, studied her and grinned impishly. "Well, I'll help you keep those beautiful curves, Abs, real butter it is."

Her cheeks turned crimson at his compliment as Abigail rolled her eyes playfully, leaning against him while they walked down to the barn. Breakfast for supper? That was…interesting, though it also sounded delicious. She'd missed breakfast due to her activities with Taker and barely at lunch, only those two tacos Dean bought them, so she was hungry. After they grabbed some eggs, Dean guided her up the street toward his place, which happened to be the same building they met in front of.

"Wait, you live here?" At his nod, he guided her inside and up the stairs to a loft, of sorts. It was nice with a couch and table, a small kitchen, bathroom, and looked like a couple bedrooms. "Do you live here alone?" Dean shook his head and guided her to sit at the small table, once again kissing her forehead before getting started on cooking. "Do you want me to help with anything?"

"You are my guest, you sit there and do guest things while I make a delicious breakfast." Dean liked breakfast; pancakes, lots of syrup and they had that in abundance, thanks to the maple trees right outside of Wonderful's walls. Whipping up the pancake mix expertly, he set that aside before raiding his fridge for ground sausage, shaping it into patties. "So, what can you tell me about yourself that isn't a secret?" He asked, winking at her before turning towards the stove.

"Guest things?"

Abigail laughed at that, accepting a glass of juice he handed to her, which was freshly squeezed from oranges. It was 5 PM in the afternoon and he was making her breakfast. How bizarre was this!

"There's really not much to tell, Dean. I love books, reading in general is what got me by and made me survive up to this point. I like to work out too, though I've only been doing it for a month and…after we eat all that fattening food, I'm gonna have to hit the gym harder." Abigail joked, taking a sip of the juice and grinned at how delicious it was. "What about you? What do YOU like to do besides escort women around Wonderful and harass the ducks?" She smirked at his eye roll, giggling and leaned back against the chair.

"I told you, babe, I'm a jack of all trades." He repeated his earlier sentiment, shaking his head. "And feed ducks. And save damsels who go falling into lakes." Flashing her a cheeky smirk when she rolled her eyes this time, Dean chuckled. "I work out, help down at the farm sometimes, help outside Wonderful. Everyone has to pitch in, right?" Since he wasn't allowed out on runs… he snickered inwardly at that. "Do a lot of work on the walls, those things don't maintain themselves."

He even had a special section of that wall, or near enough to it, not that she needed to know that. He liked Abigail, quite a bit actually, but… she was a part of that scene – Taker's scene. Had to be careful.

"And on the rare occasion, I cook breakfast for dinner for gorgeous women."

"Yeah, you really are."

Dean was completely different, the opposite of Taker and light-hearted. Hell, if she actually knew WHY he couldn't go out on runs, she probably would've run in the opposite direction. He seemed like the type who wasn't a one-woman type of man, that was for sure. Abigail liked him, but she didn't feel a type of connection she did with Taker. Still, it was nice to get away from that 'circle' and meet other people, expand her horizons, so to speak.

"Dean, you said Taker doesn't like to use magic." He'd even told her point-blank to her face magic had destroyed this world. "Do you know of anyone else around Wonderful that does or is he really the only one?"

"Dangerous topic, Ab-i-gail," He sang out softly, his back to her as he finished up with the food. When he turned back, he held two plates, walking over to set them down before retrieving butter, syrup, and utensils. Dean dropped down opposite her, nudging her plate towards her and gave her a thoughtful look. "Magic is neat, don't you think? Like, people have to be born with it. Most others can learn the principles of it, how it works, how shit works in general, but they'll never be able to use it the way natural born users do. So, to answer your question and not answer it at the same time: The Deadman is not the only one…. but he's, as far as anyone knows, the only one who was born with it."

Her curiosity hiked up more as Abigail studied him, wondering if Dean had any magical abilities and began eating her food, groaning at how amazing it was. "Oh man, you are a really good cook." She complimented with a smile, mulling over what he said regarding the magic and Taker. People assumed he was born with it, but that wasn't the case and Abigail would not share those intimate details with someone she just met. Glen had given up his life for his brother and his…lifeforce, his spirit, was what gave Taker his powers. "What if I were to tell you I know someone who was born with magic and who could potentially bring down the DOV?" She asked out of nowhere, watching his brow slowly rise and the fork stopped mid-bite, his eyes lifting to meet hers.

"I would say you already tried telling this to Taker and he shot you down, Abs." He summarized, not a doubt in his tone. That would explain a lot. Such as her earlier outburst about how she knew what needed to be done, but no one would take that chance, along with all her questions about magic and the Undertaker. "Tell me the truth, doll, you out slumming it because you needed the breather, or because you're frustrated with the Deadman's lack of action? Maybe both?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her, smiling when the corner of her mouth curved almost grudgingly.

"Both." Abigail admitted, rubbing her forehead with her fingers and sighed, hating sitting around waiting. Action had to be taken, but Taker was steadfast in the belief that, going to the DOV for just one person, even though said person was his own father, wouldn't be worth it. "And I'm not slumming it. This isn't the slums, you actually have a nice setup here." She argued, waving her fork at him and smirked, taking another bite of eggs. "I just don't understand how someone who has magic doesn't like using it. He thinks the world has been destroyed with magic, but…it might be the only thing that can save it too." The same words she had used on Taker, which had fallen on deaf ears. "You feel the same way about him when it comes to his magic, don't you?" It was more of a statement because she could see the resolve in Dean's eyes. "Is that why you don't get along with him and don't fit in his 'circle'?"

Dean held up a finger, his mouth full of food, his cheeks a little puffed out. He chewed, swallowed, washed it down with the rest of his orange juice, and then reached for his cigarettes. "After dinner smoke," He chuckled, lighting one up, staring at her intently. "Okay, do you remember way back when, before all this shit?" At her nod, he continued after a drag. "Right, me too, but I was a kid. But…. there was a gun debate, it was all across Vesperia, about how guns were killing people, going unchecked, unregulated, all that shit, and people wanted them locked down, no guns." He took another long pull, tipping his head back to exhale at the ceiling, contemplating his smoke stream before looking back at her. "Now, since the revolution shit with the Dominion, guns are used ALL THE TIME and I think of them as just a tool, so does most people. We use 'em to hunt, protect ourselves, they're tools. Dangerous ones sure, but tools just the same. There ain't no more talk of gun control, is there?" He gave her a moment to think about all that, smiling as he watched her face. "Now, with magic, that's just our new gun control debate when you think about it. It's dangerous, sure, and it can be used for horrible things, just like guns used to be, but… I think it's also just another tool, if used right. Taker disagrees… and him and I don't see eye to eye on it."

"You can't bring a knife to a gunfight." Abigail murmured, more to herself than him, nodding in agreement with his logic.

It was true. Magic, if used right, could really benefit the world and change it for the better, but Taker didn't see it that way and probably never would. The DOV was LOADED with gun and firepower, Bray had made sure they would be protected because not everyone agreed with his breeding techniques to build an army.

"But what if magic is the only way to save this world?" She stood up to stand alongside him near the open window, deciding she had to put her faith in someone other than Taker. If he wouldn't listen and see reason, she would find another way to save the people of DOV and it had to start with rescuing Malcolm. "I've heard…rumors…about magical artifacts scattered throughout Vesperia. Things like a cloak that can make you invisible or a talisman that has magical properties…have you ever heard of something like that?"

"Sure, it's in an old mineshaft 2 days from here." Dean glanced down at her before pulling her to stand in front of him, resting his chin on top of her head, sighing. "Getting down there is a bitch though. Dangerous. You know more than you're saying, Abs," He murmured, smiling and stepped back. "It's getting late." Dean had to wonder if she would get in trouble for being gone, banking she had a job up there in the main square with the other monkeys. "You should come see me again, babe." He turned her to see her face. "Tomorrow. Come see me tomorrow."

A mineshaft? So, there WAS magical artifacts that weren't too far from Wonderful. Why hadn't Taker gone after them? Dean wanted her to come back, despite what a bitch she'd been to him during her minor freak-out earlier. Maybe she didn't need Taker's help, not with rescuing Malcolm.

"Dean…" He pressed a finger to her lips and she nodded, agreeing to come see him again. "It'll probably be around the same time as today." He was right, she knew a lot more than she was letting on, but first, she had to make sure she could trust him and felt his lips brush against her forehead. "Thank you for the food. I'll see you tomorrow, Dean." Then she headed down the stairs and headed back to the front of Wonderful, this newfound information rolling through her mind.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"There you are!" Trish exclaimed, standing from the booth and hugged Abigail, who looked a little perplexed because she wasn't the only one in the common house.

"Where the hell have you been?!"

"Woman, you can't just go wanderin' off like that! We thought ya left Wonderful! Taker's been goin' outta his mind lookin' for you!"

Oh shit, Abigail thought, her eyes wide and swallowed hard, not wanting to tell them where she was because of Dean's feelings about Taker.

She had a feeling Taker had ill feelings toward the electric blue-eyed, eccentric man she'd spent the majority of her afternoon with. He HAD been going out of his mind. Taker was back in it and not overly amused. While making his rounds through Wonderful, he spotted Abigail sitting under a willow tree with none other than Dean Ambrose. That man was a colossal pain in his ass. Neither of them would have paid him any attention, he hadn't looked anything like himself at the time and he had left, not bothering to eavesdrop or stick around. She was safe enough, and apparently enjoying the other man's company.

"We're headin' for that hospital in a few days' time." Steve explained, leading her towards the common house. "Jeff and Matt have a fuckin' list of what they want brought back, so we're gonna try the travel trailers."

"No." Steve stopped, and Abigail looked up at him, shaking her head. "I don't…I don't think it's a good idea for me to go out of Wonderful right now. Stephanie is down and out for the time being because of her pregnancy. There's not enough hands in the common house, not without proper training, so I should stay here and help out with that." Not to mention, she wanted to go see Dean again to see if he would help her.

"She's right, Steve." Trish interjected, wrapping an arm around Abigail's shoulders. "We really do need her right now. Susan isn't that well-trained and…we're really scarce with help."

Amy had been throwing up every hour on the hour, so Taker ordered her to bedrest for the next couple days until her morning sickness passed. Matt was…he didn't know what to think and hadn't really said anything regarding her pregnancy. Amy wouldn't be able to go on the run either due to her morning sickness and pregnancy.

"Speaking of the common house, we need to get dinner started." Abigail walked inside the building and sighed when Trish dragged her to the back, barely having time to grab her apron.

"Where were you and what were you doing?"

"I went for a walk to clear my head and…hung out with someone. Friendly only. He's a nice guy. Now, what are we making tonight?"

"Okay, I know I'm blonde, but I'm not stupid. I'm very aware something is going on between you and Taker." Trish wasn't letting the newbie brush this aside, frowning. "Don't hurt him." She was pretty sure Abigail had been told this before and, when Abbie just nodded, she smiled again. "Know the guy's name? He from this area or… where were you? Which part of Wonderful did you see?"

That was the second time she'd been told not to hurt Taker and it made Abigail wonder why these women were so protective of him. It didn't make sense to her. Granted, he was the leader and had magic, maybe that was the reason.

"I don't really know. I just went for a walk further into Wonderful and…there were vendors and people out on the street selling things or trading, whatever you wanna call it. I wasn't aware Wonderful had multiple areas." She pulled out the stuff for dinner, sighing when Trish wouldn't leave her alone about the guy's name. "Dean. Dean Ambrose…" She watched Trish's face grow pale white, the color completely draining and sat her down before the poor woman passed out. "I'm going to assume you know him…"

"That's an understatement. You need to stay away from him, Abbie. He's…bad news. Really bad news…" Trish frowned, wondering if Taker knew about this since she hadn't seen much of him after he'd made his rounds throughout Wonderful.

"Why is that? Because he doesn't agree with Taker's methods and not part of the 'circle' you guys have going here?"

Trish recoiled at that, frowning. "I'm sorry? What circle? What is your damage, Abigail?" Considering they had taken her in, literally brought her to their meetings to help plan, let her openly contradict others and in general be 'one' of them, that was a bit uncalled for. "If you don't like how things are done here, I'll tell you the same thing you told Melina a month ago: Leave." She shook her head, pushing herself upright. There was work to be done. "I'm telling you right now, Ambrose and Taker don't get along and for good reason. Watch your ass, Abigail."

It was just like the DOV, only women are treated equally here instead of breeders. There was one leader, who dictated everything, and he had his tight little circle of people, while the others just went about their business. She thought things were different here, but after talking to Dean, she realized she was wrong.

"I will."

There was nothing more to say to the blonde. Abigail shook her head in disappointment, hating these feelings of contradiction, but she couldn't help it. Dean had really opened her eyes to the truth today and made her realize not every person in Wonderful was treated the same. Pushing those thoughts out of her head, along with Dean and Taker, Abigail began preparing dinner. There were others that were in training, so she was busy helping them, showing them the ropes alongside Trish, who had to take frequent breaks because of her pregnancy. She didn't stop until everything was done, everyone who came in fed, including cleanup. Instead of going up to bed, Abigail left the common house and went to the workout building, needing to blow off some steam.

Taker was in there, boxing. Today he was what Stephanie liked to call 'Lord of Darkness' mode, the jet black, long hair and beard. He had skipped dinner, his mind trying to focus on this upcoming trip to the hospital and how he would leave Wonderful protected for at least 2 weeks. He already knew how, and it was going to be… odd. Stopping when he spotted Abigail coming through the door, Taker wiped sweat off his brow with the towel he had left nearby. He walked around so she could see him properly, wearing nothing but black shorts to work out in.

"You look upset, darlin'."

"How perceptive of you, whoever you are today." Abigail muttered, not in the mood to deal with him or his disguises, wondering why he used magic to change up his appearance, but not for actual IMPORTANT things.

Did his scars really bother him that much? It was as if he wanted to use magic for HIS purposes, and to protect Wonderful, but nothing else. Didn't it matter to him his father was a captive of the DOV and could be the only man, in all of Vesperia, who could actually SAVE them? She had changed into a black sports bra and black shorts with her black tennis shoes, her hair still in the braid. Maybe Dean was her answer, instead of Taker, she didn't know any more and it frustrated her to no end. It also bothered her Trish said Dean was bad news. What did that mean? Instead of going for weightlifting, she went to the bag and began kicking it like Amy taught her. She would kick until she could barely walk and then drag her backside up to her bed in the common house to sleep.

"Same person I always am." If she was upset because he hadn't immediately jumped on her bandwagon this morning, that just sucked to be her. Taker circled around Abigail, hands clasped behind his back as he watched her vent her issues out on that poor bag. "I thought about what you said this morning, about rescuing Malcolm." He informed her. "And I'm not committing time, people and resources into going into that hellhole just for one person. If we go in, we go in with the intention of getting him out and killing Bray Wyatt at the same time. I don't understand why you think magic is how you beat the DOV, Abbie," His tone was calm, curious. "Wyatt holds it together, and Malcolm is just a tool for him to use. Just like you were an excuse, a justification for him." Killing Wyatt didn't require magic, he'd gladly do it with his bare hands. "And Wonderful will be protected whether I am in the walls or not." At the look she was giving him, he held out his hands, palms up. "I can't risk so much on one person, darlin'. There are thousands of lives here at stake. You WANT Wyatt to come to Wonderful, whereas I would rather not have a battlefield outside of these walls."

Had she ever seen the aftermath of a war? The bodies littering the ground, the blood, the decay? The soil was usually ruined for years, any nearby water polluted. War wasn't just killing. It was forcing people under siege, which is what Wonderful would be in that event, to suffer and slowly die behind their safety. Sabotaging water. Destroying crops. These were methods as old as the world.

"I can't have this at my door, not because that is what you want. If he comes, so be it, but I'm not going to rush him here either when there are other alternatives."

Abigail listened to what he said, remaining silent and stopped kicking the bag, knowing what she would have to do. Find another way to get Malcolm out. In her mind, in her heart, she knew it was the right thing to do. Malcolm had sacrificed everything and saved his one and only granddaughter, going as far as to make Bray believe she was dead. Magic WAS the solution to all of their problems; there wouldn't be a need for a fight because the DOV would crumble from within, especially with their sorcerer gone. Magic was the way to save Vesperia and, if Malcolm died, they would be screwed since he was last of the magic bloodline. The sooner they got him out of the castle and to Wonderful, the better off everyone would be. Taker was a stubborn man, and Abigail admired that about him, but she was just as stubborn and wanted her people liberated, wanted Bray Wyatt stopped, by any means necessary, even if she had to do it without him.

"I understand, Taker. I don't want war here either and I don't want any more innocent blood shed than there has been. Just…let me know when you want to go after him because I AM going with you. I want to see him fall, after everything he's done." There was no room for argument in her tone as she stared at him, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Don't think for a second I'm not coming with you to take that son of a bitch down." She'd sneak out if she had to.

He smiled down at her, somewhat amused and reached out to tug her arms off her chest out of the hostile position she had assumed. "Such a brave woman you are, ordering me around." Taker teased, testing the waters by pulling her into his arms, feeling Abigail tensing. He wanted to ask her about Dean Ambrose, but he didn't. He already knew where the hostile posture and her tone had come from, that scruffy jackass. "I wouldn't leave you behind, Abbie."

"You wouldn't?"

Abigail searched his eyes to see if he was being truthful and didn't see an ounce of deception, her body physically relaxing after a few seconds. As kind and funny as Dean Ambrose was, there was something about Taker that fueled her and made her want him more than any other man. Friendship would be the only thing she could offer Dean and she would have to make that clear to him if they were to hang out. She wasn't apologizing for taking a walk and hanging out with someone else either, deciding not to even mention it unless he brought it up.

"Thank you." She slid her hands up his bare sweaty chest, not appalled by it because her body was equally sweaty, her fingers reaching up to stroke his beard.

It was interesting, how she failed to mention Ambrose, and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that his name would have come up. Abigail was inquisitive, and Dean didn't think much of him at all. The feeling was fairly mutual. Not that Ambrose didn't have his uses, because he did. He was a self-professed jack of all trades, not exactly what Taker would have called him, however.

"Did you eat?" He asked quietly, tugging her towards the doors. "Come up to the tower with me, Abbie."

"Okay." Abigail couldn't deny him and felt him lace their fingers together, almost as if he was afraid she'd disappear or something "And to answer your question, yes I did eat."

She let him guide her to the tower and climbed the stairs until they were back in Taker's room again. So many fond memories…had all of that really happened the previous night? Abigail felt her cheeks flush slightly, the sweat slowly drying on her skin and kicked her shoes off, knowing she would be staying the night. She hoped anyway, unless Taker actually wanted to talk instead of exploring their bodies. When he walked into the bathroom to kick on the shower sprays and dragged her in there to join him, she had her answer.

Taker wanted to talk, but not about 'work', so to speak. Instead, he asked about her day, took note of what she did tell him and ignored what she didn't. He hadn't asked Abigail to be 'his' woman and didn't exactly have a say over who she hung out with. The last thing he wanted to do was step on her toes. Taker doubted she'd have time in the upcoming days, with him gone, to go out and hang around with Ambrose. He told her what he had done, which was partially follow her around, and the other part had been being dragged about by the Hardy's and listening to them giving him a 'wish list' of what they wanted now and what they would definitely need in the future.

"Turn around, you got… this is syrup… in your hair…"

"What? Are you serious?" Abigail frowned, reaching back to feel the sticky spot and groaned, wondering how the hell that happened. She didn't recall Ambrose flicking any food at her while they ate dinner – breakfast – whatever one wanted to call it. "Can you get it out?"

If she had to cut her hair, she would feed the tresses gone to Ambrose, personally. Taker assured her it would be fine and began working it out of her hair while washing it, moaning at how good his fingers felt massaging her scalp. Why did that feel good, of all things? Maybe telling him about Ambrose was the right thing to do, especially if this was a long-term thing between them.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"I hung out with Dean Ambrose today. I met him while I was walking around Wonderful. I haven't had a chance to explore it much and…he escorted me around, bought me food, showed me some stuff. I nearly fell in the lake, that was fun." NOT! "I didn't want to say anything because…he doesn't like you and something tells me you don't like him. Trish said he's bad news and to watch myself – actually no, she said watch my ass around him – direct quote." Turning around, Abigail looked up at Taker, trying to register the expression on his face and tilted her head while rubbing water out of her eyes.

"I saw you with him." He admitted quietly, flashing her a smile when she was able to see again. "Dean and I do not see eye to eye on a lot of things." His eyes shimmered a venomous green as he contemplated the other man, finally shrugging. "Before he came to Wonderful years ago, he was… a hired gun, a mercenary, I guess. He has some… interesting ideas." Dangerous ones. "What did you think of him, darlin'?"

"Wait, what? You saw me with him? And you didn't say anything?" Abigail didn't know how to feel about that, remembering her last outburst with Dean and decided not to make that mistake again. "Why didn't you mention that earlier when you were telling me about your day? Or were you waiting for me to bring him up?" She was not surprised when he nodded and pressed her forehead against his chest, groaning. "You are impossible." It was said in a resigned, soft tone. "I didn't have a problem with him. He was nice to me. That's all I can really say since I don't know him." His ideas were good ones and she planned on going to see Ambrose tomorrow. "He…wants me to come see him tomorrow to hang out again, so that's where I'll be after lunch…" If they were going to work out and be together, they had to be completely honest with each other and trust was a major factor. "Taker, I don't…want him the way I want you. He's nice and eccentric and fun, but…it's just friendship between us. You are the only man I want to be with. You trust me that much, right?"

Dean Ambrose was, from what women said, a good looking guy. And he was wild, eccentric, fun… crazy and dangerous also came to mind. "Just… watch yourself around him, Abigail." He said finally, not about to tell her who she could and couldn't hang out with. "It's not you, I don't trust." She would make up her own mind, without any more input from him. Abigail was headstrong, stubborn, and curious, a dangerous combination in a woman, especially one like her.

"I'll be careful." Abigail assured him, pulling on his beard enough to bend down so she could softly kiss him, wrapping her arms around his neck until he lifted her to where her legs instinctively encircled his waist.

The fire and passion she felt for him was explosive; there was no way she'd feel the same thing with Ambrose. Even from the first moment she set eyes on Taker, it was an instant attraction, even with his many disguises. Through the disguise he was in now, she felt the scars and caressed them tenderly, moaning as their tongues dueled together and tasted each other again. She just hoped he wasn't angry with her for what she was about to do…behind his back with Dean, no less.

If he had known what she was planning, he probably would have pulled a Bray Wyatt and lost his mind. Taker would've cut Dean Ambrose up into tiny, bite-sized pieces and fed them to her, AFTER he chained her to his damn wall. As it was, Taker didn't know what she was planning. What he DID know was that there was a beautiful woman in his arms, her hand was stroking his cock, and tonight… tonight they were picking up where they had left off last night.

Taker wouldn't listen to reason and she'd given him plenty of time to make his mind up. He did, it wasn't what she wanted, but she wouldn't push him to do something he didn't want to do. So, she would have to improvise and get help from an outside source. Dean Ambrose was her ticket to getting Malcolm freed. She just hoped he agreed with her plan, once she divulged to him the reason WHY she wanted the sorcerer freed. However, that was a problem for tomorrow and right now, Abigail didn't want to talk about anything else tonight unless it was dirty words in her ear with that low, deep voice of his. Taker carried her out of the shower, shutting the sprays off and planted her in the center of his bed, hovering over her. She moaned deeply as soon as his mouth caught hers again, her hands running up his tattooed sleeved arms to his shoulders, his hard cock resting, pressing, against her wet sex.

"Taker…" She breathed out, burying her fingers in his hair as he began the torturous exploration of her body all over again. "Mmm…"

Eventually, he was going to have to tell her his real name, his birth name. He hadn't gone by that in years. It was Taker, or Undertaker, Deadman, Boss, Big Boss, or Calaway if he had pissed off one of the women.

"Delicious…" He rumbled in a deep baritone, kissing, licking, and biting his way down her gorgeous body.

Soon enough, he was where he wanted to be, taking in the sight of her glistening slit and growled.

All his.

"Mmm growl again…"

It sent a vibration throughout her entire body whenever he growled against her clit, burying her fingers in his black tresses and let him go to town on her. She could not get enough of this man buried between her thighs, his mouth anyway. Eventually, they would get to having actual sex, but foreplay for now and getting to know each other was all they'd do. Abigail appreciated that because she was still wary about having actual sex, knowing it would hurt. One of these nights, she'd be ready for it, but it wasn't this night.

Knowing he was leaving in a day, two at the most, Taker made the most of his time with her. He knew she wasn't ready for actual intercourse, but there were plenty of other things they could do. He had no problem in just eating her out either; she tasted like ambrosia, he was going to miss it on the road. She wouldn't come, Steve had already told him that and honestly, he wasn't taking that big a crew. Just enough people to run the stupid trailer they had to take.

* * *

Staring up at the building that read **SHIELD** in big bold black letters, Abigail contemplated if this was the right decision. Was she jumping the gun? Taker would be livid with her when all was said and done, but…this is what she truly felt was the best course of action. If Dean helped her, it would be a lot simpler. Taker hadn't elaborated on his 'jack of all trades', so she surmised it wasn't anything good or legal, at least in the big man's eyes. Taking a deep breath, wearing blue jean shorts and a burnt orange short-sleeved top, Abigail made her way inside, pushing open the door slowly.

"Dean?" She called out, looking around the place and frowned when she heard nothing. It was just after lunch was served, around the same time they met yesterday so, where was he?

"Dean's not here." A tall, bronzed man stepped out of a backroom, his long black hair hanging down his back as he studied her. "You must be Abigail." He grinned at her. "I'm Roman." She was staring at him like he was… well, not Dean. "His partner, best friend… and he didn't tell you about me." Roman hung his head, letting out a long sigh. "He said if you came by, I was to bring you down to see him. He's working. You want me to take you there? It's out past the lake, some of the guys are laying new pipes for the purifier." Dean included.

"I – I – um…"

This man was HUGE, almost as big as Taker! What the hell were these men eating to make them this big?! Roman stood well over 6 feet tall, had long black hair, naturally tanned skin and…grey eyes. She could not recall a man ever having grey eyes. Dean told this Neanderthal about her?

"If he's working, I don't wanna bother him…" Damn it, time was running short and why would he tell her to come here to see him if he wasn't going to be here? "T-Thanks anyway…" There was no way she was going anywhere with this man and headed for the exit, cursing mentally.

"Everyone has to work when told, it's how Wonderful keeps running. Come on…" Roman walked over to the window, pointing out. "If you don't want me to take you, you can take yourself. You've been to the lake, right? Hell, you could even do me a favor and take the idiot his lunch. He packed it, but never took it." He looked down at her; she was beautiful, Dean hadn't been exaggerating that. "Unless you got to get back to the common house?" Dean also said she was one of the brass monkeys, but there had been hope for her. He was curious.

"Okay – okay, big man, I get it. I don't think he'd appreciate me going down there alone, and you don't seem like you're gonna eat me, so come on." She tried not to smile at the bewildered expression on his face and shook her head, understanding what it meant to have to work when told. That was how it went at the common house, even though she was no longer sleeping upstairs due to her building relationship with Taker. "Roman, you said, right?" He nodded, and she smiled, her hair piled up on top of her head in a messy bun today, extending her hand. "You were right. I'm Abigail, but most people call me Abbie. I'm assuming you're Dean's roommate?"

"That too." Roman flashed her another grin, taking her hand in his and shaking firmly. "Let me grab his lunch and I'll walk you down. He said the work wasn't supposed to last all day." Dean was Dean, the fact that he had actually invited someone was weird because the man didn't even know what he was doing from day to day as a general rule. Roman got out lunch, which was a giant cooler, and hoisted it onto his shoulder. "Probably a good thing you agreed to let me walk you." He laughed mirthfully.

"THAT'S his lunch?"

Holy cow, Dean ate A LOT, if that was the case. Roman chuckled in response as they walked out of the building, heading down the sidewalk toward the lake. They passed the park and Abigail smiled, recalling how much fun she had the previous day swinging and being on the merry-go-round with Dean. Again, they were just friends because she already had the man she wanted. The man who made her toes curl, stole her breath, and made her heart feel as though it would leap out of her chest at any moment…all because he had major skill with his tongue and lips on her nethers. When they reached the lake, Abigail spotted Dean in the distance and watched Roman head down to let him know she was there while she moved toward the water's edge.

Dean was sweating profusely. He had come to 'work' in old black steel-toed boots, a pair of faded, torn blue jeans that definitely had seen better days and a white beater. He wore a blue, faded bandana around his head, keeping hair and sweat out of his eyes.

"Roman, my house bitch!" He laughed, passing his shovel over to whoever had come to relieve him. "Just in time, my shift is over." He eyeballed the cooler. "Gimme!"

"Abigail is-" Roman shook his head, watching as Dean walked on by him. Like he had said: Dean was Dean.

"Abs, my favorite babe!" He said by way of greeting, smiling when she turned to look at him. "Follow me, let's go eat this." The cooler was now on his shoulder and he tapped it. "Made sure there's enough for us both."

"Um okay…" Abigail smiled apologetically at Roman, wondering why Dean hadn't mentioned him yesterday, since they lived together, and followed him to a destination away from the lake. It was at the same spot as yesterday, the same rock and everything. "Thanks." She smiled, taking the sandwich he passed over with the bag of chips, wondering where he got them. Abigail wasn't complaining because they were delicious and nibbled on her sandwich, looking out at the water. "I need your help, Dean. You're the only one who can right now. And what I'm going to ask you to do is very dangerous…so if you back out, I won't blame you. But I have to ask because…I'm out of options."

"Yeah, I figured." He said, balancing a stack of sandwiches on his knee while he applied his chips in-between each sandwich. "One second, babe." Dean finished what he was doing, picked up his massive stack, and began squishing it into something manageable before looking at her. "Invisibility cloak, right?" He hadn't mentioned Roman because one, she hadn't asked and two, she had freaked out on him for asking questions that apparently hit too close to home. "I had hoped, Abs, you were coming back because you couldn't resist my animal magnetism." He chomped his sandwich, staring at her.

"You're a nice guy, Dean, and I had a lot of fun with you. I really did." This is where things got a little dicey because she had to tell him the truth about who she was and…who she was currently with. Maybe. "But now isn't the time for fun and jokes. Now is the time for action and you said you're a jack of all trades." So had Taker. "I told you my name, but…I haven't told you exactly who I am and where I come from. I don't know you that well, but…I feel like I can trust you. So, here it is, my ultimate secret that only Taker's 'circle' knows about." At his arched brow, Abigail took a deep breath and stood up from the rock, staring out at the water. "My name is Abigail Waters…but I'm also known as the Queen Mother of the Dominion of Vesperia." She looked back at him over her shoulder, seeing his eyes were wide as saucers. "Bray Wyatt needs to be stopped…and brought down for what he's done…and I need your help to do it."


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

His eyes remained as wide as saucers and eventually, Dean began laughing. Loudly. Laughing his ass off and the stack of sandwiches hit the ground, followed by him a second later, laughing so hard he was crying.

"Fuck all, Abs!" Dean gasped, trying to stop, but it was hard. That was the craziest shit he had heard all week! "Seriously, pull the other leg, doll." He managed to say when he had finally gotten it somewhat under control, staring up into her face. "You're serious? For real?" At her grim nod, he snorted. "Prove it."

He was laughing at her and then challenging her to prove it to him! How the hell was she supposed to do that?! It was simple, really. Give him the backstory, the history, between her and Bray Wyatt, the leader of the DOV.

"The sorcerer's name is Malcolm – the one I want to save and bring back to Wonderful. He's the only known sorcerer in all of Vesperia and he can help liberate my people. All the women that are being forced to breed – raped and beaten on a daily basis and killed for not producing the right sex. For 10 years, I have watched this happen to countless women, saw boys being taken away from their mothers to be trained up as soldiers. Did you ever wonder how DOV got as big and powerful as it did in a short amount of time?" At his nod, she continued. "There's a serum Malcolm produced that, when injected into pregnant women, the babies will grow astronomically fast. Susan, the newest refuge from the DOV, is only a year old, but she looks like she's 18-19. It's all magic-based. You take Malcolm out of the equation and the DOV will have nothing to stand on, nothing to produce their serum. Bray sent me here to investigate something called Mythril, which Taker told me is a type of mineral with magical properties. Malcolm is the only one who can probably take the Mythril and produce medicine and other things Wonderful really needs that are hard to acquire. Taker believes it's a waste of resources to go save one person when he can take an army and try to destroy the DOV, but they have a lot of firepower and guns, even cannons. Taker wouldn't stand a chance right now, but if we take the magic away from the DOV, they wouldn't be able to produce any more soldiers and will start to break down from the inside out." She took a deep breath, because that was a lot to say and looked out at the water again. "One other thing – Bray will come for me, eventually. I'm supposed to be undercover here for the Mythril and…to find out about Undertaker's powers, how he does his disguises, because Malcolm told him something about a rumor where he does that. I'm…special to Bray. I'm the only woman who has never been harmed or touched in the DOV…because of him. But this destruction, this madness, has to end. And Taker doesn't agree with me how things should go down, so I have to find another way. And that's where you come in. I need your help to get Malcolm out of the DOV castle and back to Wonderful." If that wasn't enough proof for him, Abigail didn't know what else to do.

"Uh babe, one thing… Mythril, so far as I know, can only be handled by the Deadman because he's the only one who has access to it." Dean said thoughtfully, stroking the scruff on his chin as he now stared out into the water, finally nodding. "We'll figure it out. So, when are we doing this and I'm going to assume you'll be insisting ongoing, so what bullshit story are you going to tell people about why you'll be MIA?" Jury was out on whether or not he bought her story and he had no idea who this Susan was, nor did he really care. However, spiting Taker and having something fun to do was really all the motivation he needed.

"I don't have to tell people anything. Last I checked, this a free town to do whatever you want, within reason. I do know Taker has a huge raid happening on Friday that will keep him away for several weeks. That's the perfect time to go. While he's gone, we can make our way to the DOV, rescue Malcolm and bring him back. The Mythril will be dealt with once Malcolm is here. Once Taker actually sees how much good magic does for people, such as making medicines and whatnot, he'll hopefully realize this is the right thing to do. And if he doesn't," Abigail shrugged, not really concerned about that right now. "Sometimes going rogue is the only way to open someone's eyes. Are you absolutely sure you want to do this, Dean? Because there's no going back and this will be very dangerous. It needs to be me, you and one other person, if that. It might just have to be me and you going to rescue Malcolm, depending on how big this invisibility cloak is. You have to be 100% sure you're in, so take the night to think about it. Please."

She sat back down on the rock and clasped her hands in her lap, heaving a sigh. Wow… she had come into this place via the Undertaker's permission and tolerance, given her former stature… and she had absolutely zero respect for the man, his position, and what/how he did things. Dean might've been in love.

"Yeah, I know about this raiding thing they're going on. They asked Roman to go." Nobody knew jack about vehicles like Roman, he bet that had been GREAT for Steve Austin, having to come see a slumdog. "You're going to have to tell them something, Abs, you'll be gone for… awhile." Dean informed her in a serious tone. The mineshaft was, luckily for them, on the way towards the DOV, so that helped. But he had no idea what was down there. "Unless you're hoping you'll still be in their good graces when you return. Or… we just sneak you back in and they can fuck off."

It wasn't that she had zero respect for the way Taker did things in Wonderful, but deep in her heart she knew – SHE KNEW – magic was the only way to go at this point. Bray was too strong with Malcolm beside him, but that power taken away would damn near cripple him and the DOV. "Then what do you suggest, Mr. Jack of All Trades?"

Dean could be in love with her all he wanted, but that didn't change the fact she was taken. She was spoken for by Taker. They would get to that conversation eventually, she imagined, but right now that wasn't the priority.

"I'm blank, I was just gonna…go and let the chips fall where they may. I highly suggest we sneak out at night though, that way nobody sees us walking directly out of the gates. And since they're closed at night, we're gonna have to go OVER them, if that's possible…"

"Whoa, slow your roll woman, you have brass balls, babe, and I admire that, but you really got to stop making things overly complicated." Dean was bouncing on the balls of his feet, blue eyes gleaming. "You CAN'T go in or out of those gates unless it is daylight. Taker manages that shit with magic. The only time you might be able to is when he leaves Wonderful, but you can bet your sweet ass he'll have it guarded. No… I got your way out, bank on that. There's shit outside these walls people need, much like yourself, that the Deadman doesn't consider a necessity… so…" People like him, mostly him, and his boys -Shield-, smuggled those items in. "And if you're in with the monkeys, and you bail on them, you're not going to get back in so easily. I got your way out, I got your way back in. Tell them something, anything, tell 'em you're going to slum it in other parts of Wonderful. This place is fairly big, shouldn't be hard to get lost for a bit in it, right? And… can you swim?" He stooped down, rifling in the cooler and emerged with two jars of soda, offering her one. "It's orange pop, I think. Roman says it is."

"Thanks…"

Dean looked excited about this excursion for sure as Abigail popped the top on her soda, taking a long swig of it since it was really warm outside today. It sounded like he'd snuck out of Wonderful a time or two, even with Taker's magic to protect the borders. Dean was the perfect guy to ask for this task, Abigail felt more confident and took another sip of the soda.

"I'm not one of their monkeys either. Just because I work in the common house doesn't mean I fall in line with whatever is said."

The last thing she wanted to do was be known as one of Taker's lackeys or in his circle, even though she had been intimate with him two nights in a row. It would be a third tonight, as long as he was up for it. She knew she would be.

"And yes, I can swim." There was a pool in the castle; it was one of the few things Bray allowed her to do, though her bathing suit had to be white. Everything white – never again. "I know I've sprung a lot on you today, Dean. I really appreciate your help though."

"Don't thank me yet, doll, we still have to get to that invisibility cloak and I know jack shit about what's down that mine. It was abandoned before all this shit happened." As was the general trend, he'd bet that there were some nifty little traps waiting for them or something, just because that was how magic always seemed to operate when it came to its fun stuff. "At least today you're not freaking out on me." Dean figured if she was crazy, at least he wouldn't be bored.

Abigail lowered her head, feeling bad about her freak-out and wrung her hands together in her lap, having set her food aside. "Yeah, sorry about that. I had no reason to freak out on you, that was my own paranoia shining through." She felt him lift her chin with his finger, raising her eyes to meet his and saw the grin on his face. It never wavered, he wasn't the least bit mad at her for anything. "You said you were my way out of here and my way in, so how do you do it if it's not through the gates or over them?"

"Swimming." Dean let his hand drop, lacing his fingers through hers and pulled her down towards the lake. He guided her away from the work going on and started the long walk around it. "Remember yesterday, I told you this lake was fed by underground streams, right?" At her nod, he whistled. "There's a small cave, in the middle of one of those springs. I've used it as a stopping point to breathe and the springs themselves surface outside of Wonderful's walls." He knew about it, the Hardy's knew about it, but the chances of getting people in and out that way were insane, so… the risk was deemed acceptable, especially since it meant fresh water.

"How long would I have to hold my breath?" She asked, shutting her eyes when he said 2-3 minutes.

Abigail wasn't sure if she could do that, wishing they could practice doing it, but there was only one shot at that. If they failed, it was over, and Malcolm wouldn't be saved. If she could train herself to hold her breath for 3 minutes, she would have it in the bag. It was doable, right? Either that or she'd end up drowning…and if she died, well, at least she wouldn't live to see the destruction of Vesperia.

"Okay." It was a huge risk, but one she had to take as Abigail watched the channel alongside Dean, not even bothered with the fact he held her hand. Her mind was solely focused on the task at hand – getting out, retrieving the invisibility cloak, and then saving Malcolm. "I will let you know exactly what day Taker plans on leaving, unless Roman already knows that information." Taker hadn't told her anything yet, only that it would be a 'few days'.

"Tomorrow, bright and early, before the sun is up from what Roman says." Dean muttered, his mind elsewhere. "I might be able to get you a rebreather, Abs, you know what that is?" He wasn't surprised when she shook her head. "It's a mask that fits over your face, kinda like old school scuba diving, but the oxygen tanks would be tiny and here," He gestured along his cheeks. "Small enough to get you through and the tanks would hold… maybe twenty minutes of oxygen, that'd be enough for two trips. There and back again."

"Tomorrow…" Abigail murmured thoughtfully, knowing tonight would be the last time she didn't see Taker for a while.

She would have to make the most of it, hoping he would be up to it. Something told her when this was all said and done, when Malcolm was saved, Taker would want nothing to do with her. Abigail was willing to risk that since they hadn't been together all that long and…she had to follow what she felt in her heart was the right thing to do for the people trapped in the DOV.

"Dean…" She turned to face him, taking a deep shuddering breath and placed her hand on his chest. "You have to promise me something. If I don't…make it, please save Malcolm and bring him back here, no matter what." Abigail pressed her finger to his lips, shaking her head. "It's just an if, I'm not saying I'm not going to make it, but…this is dangerous, and I need to make sure I can count on you to get him back here, by any means necessary."

"Babe," Now he was covering her mouth with his palm, his free arm moving around her waist to keep her still. "Trust me, you're gonna make it. I'm going to take care of you, okay?" Her eyes were wide, and he grinned, bending down. He kissed his hand, which was over her lips, so… he kissed her through his hand, chuckling. "There, deal is sealed, right? We got this. Just… I'll need tonight to get everything ready. We can get out tomorrow night, can't do it during the day."

Now was the time to tell him they could only be friends, but Abigail was afraid if she did that, he'd back out of this and not help her. It was incredibly selfish, but she needed Dean right now since Taker refused to listen to her. This was the only way to destroy the DOV from the inside out, weaken their defenses as well as liberate her people, by taking the only source of magic away from Bray. If Abigail had to choose who she wanted to do this task with, it would've been Taker, but…he was stubborn and so was she, so she had to stick with Dean.

"Okay." She whispered, pushing his hand away from her mouth and hoped to hell she made it back alive. "I trust you, Dean." Abigail was literally putting her life, her wellbeing in his hands and could only hope it wasn't a mistake.

"Good. That's not a requirement, but good." Dean laughed, turning her around so they could head back to the willow tree. His blue eyes narrowed at what they were greeted to. "Slummin' it, Deadman?" What the hell was Taker doing way out here? "See you got that Big Evil look today."

He snorted, finding it contradicting as hell that Taker didn't approve of magic, but he used it to change up his look. Idiot. He got one of the main reasons for it. Nobody would ever be able to accurately describe who he was if caught, but Dean still didn't agree with the method and hypocrisy of it all.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

_Big Evil… what the hell ever_. "I have business in the forge." Taker retorted flatly, his eyes moving to Abigail, who was standing there looking almost petrified, with Ambrose's arm around her waist. The forge was on the other side of the lake and under lock and key.

His lock and key.

"Big Evil?" Abigail tilted her head, trying to figure out why Dean would call him that and giggled. "Yeah, yeah I can see why. I don't know why, but with that red bandana around your head, you look like a red devil." She nudged Dean's arm from her waist to walk up to Taker, her eyes telling him all he needed to know. "What's the forge? Can I go with you? Explore more of Wonderful, maybe?"

Since she wouldn't be spending a lot of time with him after today…today was all she had with him before all hell broke loose. They would be going on separate journeys, each for their own reasons. No doubt they would clash once they returned, if she made it back alive.

"You? Go into the forge? Fat chance." Dean snorted, folding his arms over his chest as he watched the two.

Oh, he wanted to say yes just to shut that idiot up and his teeth gnashed visibly. "You can't, darlin'," He said slowly, reluctantly. "I… have something important to do, and I can't have any distractions."

"He's working with My-th-rriiilllll…." Dean sing-songed obnoxiously.

Taker wanted to throttle Dean Ambrose, his hands clenching.

"It's okay, I understand."

What could he possibly be using Mythril for? That was curious considering, as far as she knew, it was only used for weaponry. Maybe he was fastening a new weapon to take on his journey? Abigail didn't know and could only speculate, smiling softly up at him. Dean was purposely baiting Taker, but she couldn't berate him due to what they had planned. Abigail had to play this carefully and stepped back from Taker to stand beside Dean again.

"It was worth a shot to ask. Never been down there before, but if I can't go, I can't go. Have fun, Big Evil."

His green eyes rolled, and Taker reached out, pulling Abigail back into him, bending down to brush his lips against hers. "I'll show you 'big evil' later tonight, darlin'." He rumbled against her mouth, hands moving down to palm her backside before roaming back up. "When I'm done, I'll come find you."

His babe and the Undertaker, that was gross. Also interesting, since she was plotting a big 'fuck you' to the guy. Dean did enjoy himself a good 'fuck you' and he turned his back on them, giving them some privacy. And he began singing, loudly.

Her taste in friends was horrible. "Are you really spending your day with… that?"

Up until now, nobody really knew Abigail and Taker were intimate, but now THAT cat was out of the bag. She had no idea if he did it to prove a point to Dean or…because he wanted to actually kiss her. Probably a little bit of both. She smiled, smacking his chest playfully, and tried looking at him sternly.

"Be nice." She murmured, pecking him one final time and reluctantly pulled away, not wanting to. "You better, since you're leaving tomorrow morning." At his surprised look, she grinned and waved three fingers at him. "See you in a bit, Big Evil." Winking, she watched him saunter off and shook her head, turning her attention back to Dean. "You can stop singing now, he's gone. You two REALLY don't like each other, you weren't exaggerating."

"He's a hypocritical cocksmoker with a capital C," Dean remarked, making sure the last bit was loud enough for the walking away Taker to hear. He was rewarded with a middle finger. "He hates magic, but he's off to fucking use it; seriously, that's jacked." His eyes were on her now, half amused, half disappointed. "So, I'm guessing that was his way of telling me you're off the market."

It was indeed, and because he wanted to remind her he hadn't forgotten about her. Taker just wasn't able to put off important things for the woman he was starting to care about. Abigail would have to understand that, or they'd just have to end things now, while they still could and manage it amicably. Once inside the forge, he groaned, eyeballing the waiting Mythril. Taker couldn't be gone for perhaps a month and leave Wonderful completely unprotected… he just couldn't do it. He could practically feel his heart thudding itself out of his chest and placed his fist over it.

"Just temporary…" He reminded himself, turning to seal the doors behind him.

"I didn't think he wanted anyone to know about us yet, but apparently so." Abigail couldn't focus on that right now, or the fact Dean and Taker did NOT like each other one bit. They had a dangerous task before them, one that would require her full attention instead of worrying about men. "I meant what I told him though, you are my friend, Dean. And since I may not even make it back alive…" She ignored the look he shot her, folding her arms in front of her chest. "Nothing else matters right now except what we discussed. Just in case you wanted some form of payment for it, here." She brought the silver coins and gestured him to hold out his hand, dropping them into his palm. "I don't know what you can use those for, maybe trading or something, but I didn't expect you to do this completely for free. And I'm not taking them back, so don't bother trying."

Shrugging, Dean tossed them out into the lake. "Make a wish, doll." He laughed, having absolutely no use for them and ignored her dropped jaw. "Hey, you said you weren't taking them back, so… they were mine to do with what I wanted." He wrapped his arm around her. "Just friends, sure. Fine. Let's get something straight, Abs," His tone had gotten deadly serious. "That isn't the first time you've mentioned you not coming back and I'm telling you right now, knock it off. I don't deal with people who have death wishes and that's what you sound like. This world ain't no place for heroes, got it? We do what we got to do, but we live through it and keep on trucking." He was grinning again. "Besides, I haven't lost a man yet."

"Yeah well, as you can plainly see, I'm not a man, I'm a woman." Abigail retorted with a smirk, though it didn't touch her eyes.

There was a very good chance this would all go south, either in the cave with the invisibility cloak or at the castle. She just hoped Dean didn't play hero if she got into a bind or in trouble. It was obvious he cared about her already; was she really that…beautiful, enchanting, that two men wanted her?

"I can't believe you just tossed those in the lake." She muttered good-naturedly, rolling her eyes at his grin and nudged him playfully. "Alright, I'm gonna leave you to do the preparations…and head back up to help out with the common house." It was going on 4 and she promised Trish she wouldn't be late today. "Tomorrow night, where do you want to meet up?"

"My place." Dean tugged off his bandana, staring at her and grinned. "I'll walk you up to the common house, been a while since I've seen… them." He bet Trish Stratus still had those very lovely bouncing bosoms too. "Shit, Roman is cooking tonight anyway, might just eat there too." Roman couldn't cook to save his life. Abigail looked like she was torn between being amused and panicking. "What's wrong, doll? Afraid of what people will say if I'm with you?" He didn't know whether to find that funny or feign being somewhat hurt. Dean reached down, tugging his beater out of the waist of his jeans and peeled it off, using it to wipe the sweat off his muscular chest before wrapping it around his neck, groaning. "Shower first." For once, the cold water in the building was going to be very welcome.

"No, no I just…didn't think you'd want to slum it up with Taker's 'circle'."

Abigail laughed at his eye roll, trying not to notice the body he had on him. There was no doubt in her mind, if she hadn't met Taker first, Dean would've been the next choice to lose her virginity. Speaking of that…Abigail wondered if that would happen tonight, really not wanting to die without experiencing sex at least once. Would Taker be up for it though? She couldn't push the issue or else he would know something was going on.

"I could care less what those people think of us hanging out together, Dean. If I'm 'slumming' it up, so be it. You are my friend and you're doing something none of them would do." For her, she knew that was the only reason he'd agreed to do it, besides seeing Taker's head possibly explode. "Now come on, shower and then we'll head up there. Try to be quick, okay?"

"You should quit your little gig as Stephanie's scullery maid." Dean informed her after they had stopped, so he could retrieve his cooler before heading towards his 'house'. "You can come work with me. When I'm not on the 'everyone pitches in' gig, I do… other things, fun things. You're a budding adrenaline junkie, you'd have fun."

Anyone as ballsy as Abigail was being wasted in a kitchen, running errands like some little maid. She needed to be out of that place, free, and she'd probably enjoy being able to see little slices of the world. Dean was able to do that, give her that. Hell, if Taker wasn't such a straight-laced son of a bitch, Dean bet he'd have been a bit surprised at just how much Shield could have done for him and Wonderful. As it was, since they weren't exactly wanted, or always trusted… they did things under the table. A lot of it still benefited Wonderful, just not necessarily in the way Taker wanted.

"Oh really? You do realize I have a bed in the common house and that's why I work there, right? You willing to put me up if I were to leave the common house and come work with you?"

Granted, if things kept progressing with Taker…no, Abigail didn't think that would happen after Malcolm was rescued. He was going to be furious with her. She smirked when he nodded and highly doubted that, following him into the Shield building upstairs to his loft.

"I'll think about it, but tonight, I still need a place to sleep and I still have a job to do. I can't leave them hanging, especially since Stephanie is out right now." At Dean's raised brow, Abigail frowned and wrapped her arms around herself. "It's one of the reasons I want to rescue Malcolm. They're running low on the type of medicine she needs for her pregnancy. It's…complicated and since you're a guy, you probably care less. I'm worried about her though – and a few others are pregnant too that run the common house, so training it is."

"Oh, the blood pressure meds, right?" He laughed, pushing open the door and guided her inside. "Yeah, Roman got to hear all about it. That's one of the reasons why they're raiding that hospital. Meds, beds, generators, equipment, also a reason why they need my big Samoan."

"Not my name, Ambrose."

"Could be, sweet cheeks." Dean pinched Roman's cheek on his way through, stopping to shuck his boots. "We're getting a roomie, Romie."

Roman pinched the bridge of his nose, flashing Abigail a quick smile and then groaned. "Why can't you undress in the bathroom?"

"Don't look." Dean snorted, bare assed now, and kicked his jeans to the side. "Because as soon as I'm out, I'm tossing them into the wash pile, jackass. You were bitchin' I leave everything laying on the bathroom floor. Be out soon, Abs."

"Did I hear somethin' about a new roommate?" Seth Rollins came waltzing in, stopping at the sight of the stunning ebony-haired beauty standing in the middle of the living room/kitchen, raising a slow black brow. Her hand was currently covering her eyes and her cheeks were…red. "Who do we have here? Another one of your flings, Ro-Ro?"

"Not my name, jackass."

"Yeah – yeah, whatever. Sweetheart, you can take your hand away from your eyes now. He's in the bathroom." Seth informed her with a grin, also naturally tanned, though not as much as Roman, with straight shoulder-length black hair, naturally curled and a black full beard, trimmed neatly. "I'm Seth, and what is your name, beautiful?"

Just how many men lived here? Abigail pulled her hand away from her eyes and looked at Seth, not sensing immediate danger from him. "Abigail, most people call me Abbie." She shook his offered hand and cleared her throat, not believing Dean just went bare-assed in front of her. Good GOD! "So, you three…live here together?"

"Yep." Roman was busy getting a pair of tongs out of the backroom, big old barbecuing ones. They used them for whatever. In this case, he was using them to get Dean's scummy pants off the floor. "Dean needs two full-time babysitters."

"Ain't that the truth." Seth chuckled and then realized Abigail might be getting the wrong impression about them. "We're not gay."

"Who the hell said we were gay?" Roman shot Seth a look and then glanced at the pants he was holding out at arm's length when Seth gave him a look. "I'm not."

"Roman," Dean popped his head out of the bathroom. "Man, you got anything else besides fruit smelling wash?"

Seth had to turn away.

"You sure about that, big man?" Abigail snickered, ignoring Roman's blatant glare shot her way and folded her arms in front of her chest. "I'm sorry, but I've never heard of a man having fruit smelling body wash."

Seth was trying, really trying, not to laugh at his comrade and failed, losing it when Dean did a double thumbs-up before slamming the door in Roman's face.

Abigail lost it as well, laughing hard and held her stomach, tears filling her eyes from the pain. A quick glance at the clock told her she couldn't wait for Dean to finish up, eyes widening. "Oh shit, I gotta go. Tell Dean to meet me at the common house if he still wants to come. Didn't realize the time. Catch you later, gentlemen!" She hightailed it out of the building and ran smack into… "Taker. Sorry!" Trish was going to kill her if she was late again. Maybe a job profession change was in order…after Malcolm was rescued. "Done already?"

"Yes," He said simply, feeling rather… drained. In the satchel at his side was Wonderful's protection while he was gone. "I'm sorry I couldn't take you into the forge, darlin'." His tired emerald eyes moved to the building behind her, knowing damn well who lived there. "I can show you what I was doing though." He smiled slightly. "If… you promise to keep it to yourself." Taker hadn't missed her disappointment earlier, but working at very high temperatures with a magical mineral was a recipe for disaster under the best of times.

Doing what he had done, that was just a death wish.

Common house or Taker…that was a no-brainer. "I told you I understand, it's okay."

She reached up to touch the side of his face, smiling softly and then frowned at how drained he was. Maybe they wouldn't be spending the night together after all. That made her heart twinge painfully in her chest because she had no idea what the future held for them once tomorrow came.

"Show me. I won't tell anyone."

At his nod, he took her hand and guided her up to the front of Wonderful to his tower. Abigail didn't care about anything else, not even the common house, and walked up the stairs with him until they were completely alone in his room.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

"When Glen died, he saved me by magic." Taker was pretty sure he had already told her this, but… at the moment, he was a bit too fuzzy to remember. "A side-effect was… it fused with me, it became this thing in me, and I could always feel it, especially when I used it. I don't think he meant for me to have magical abilities, but magic itself tends to be unpredictable at times." Pulling out a small stone from the satchel, it was fused all right, to his own heart. "I don't think Glen meant to put it directly in me, but he wasn't trained, you see." Taker held it up, the talisman encased in Mythril. He had melted it and then blown it like he would have glass. "As long I leave it here, in Wonderful, the protection remains and nobody except me can use it. It's… part of me." That explained why he was feeling drained, taking all that magic out of himself had been a chore and a half. "And the Mythril will protect it, it'll only respond to me." He held it out to Abigail, watching as she took it. The entire thing turned black. "Neat, isn't it?"

"I-I don't understand…you created this from the magic inside of you Glen gave? That means you're…weaker, right? You'll be weak going out on this run." Taker had sacrificed himself yet again for this town and all the people in it. They needed Malcolm more than ever, she was convinced after what this man had to endure and give up. "Taker!" She dropped the stone on the bed and rushed to him, seeing he'd dropped to a knee and cupped his face in her hands, pure worry and concern filling her eyes. "Come on, you need to lay down. Don't pass out until you're in bed."

Abigail draped his arm around her shoulders and managed to get him over to the bed, watching him fall on his back on top of it. Why would he do this to himself? She knew he wanted to protect Wonderful, so why not send his best guys out on this hospital run? Why did Taker have to go? She climbed on the bed to take his hand, trying like hell not to show how much this bothered her to see him so physically drained and pressed it to her mouth. Wonderful needed him and so did she for the final battle with Bray, even if his defenses and strength were about to be severely depleted.

"Damn it…" She whispered, hating how much she cared about him and released his hand to grab the stone on the bed beside her, eyeing it for a few minutes.

If Mythril could do this, protect an entire town, she could only imagine what Malcolm could do with his powers and Mythril.

"Put it down, honey," Steve said from the doorway, carrying a tray laden with food and pill bottles on it. "It won't work for anyone but him. Best… stick it in his satchel and hide it somewhere." Taker told him his plans, just in case something had gone wrong. He watched as Abigail did as he bid, setting the tray down on the table and glanced through the open curtains to where the Undertaker lay, passed the hell out. "He'll be fine. He's just… another regular human now." He said, trying to reassure her. "Hardy sent up a bunch of shit for him to get him back on his feet." He knew why Taker had done this, to see if he COULD, to leave Wonderful protected in the event something happened to him.

Well, he was going to hope the test run was a success.

"Wait…WHAT?!" Abigail's jaw dropped at Steve's confession as she stared down at Taker, covering her mouth with her hand. "No – NO! He can't disguise himself when he goes on that run tomorrow! How…How could he DO this?!" She hadn't meant to rage to Steve, but…Taker was human. Fully human, which meant he'd taken ALL of his magic out of himself in order to protect Wonderful.

"Abbie, it's gonna be okay. We'll take care of him…"

She went right back to sitting on the bed beside him, holding his hand and let the tears flow down her cheeks, wondering why his disguise had changed so suddenly the moment his knee hit the floor. It was his body reacting to all the magic being siphoned out of him.

"Abbie…"

"I'm not leaving him." Her voice shook, cracked and she didn't bother turning to face Steve, hearing the door close behind her moments later.

Fuck the common house, fuck Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins, fuck everything and everyone right now. The ONLY thing she cared about was Taker and hoped he woke up soon, just wanting him to be alright.

Hours later it was Jeff Hardy coming to check on Taker, not surprised to find Abigail there as well. Steve had told him her reaction and he let himself into the room, not surprised to find her there still. He began turning on lights, walking over to sit on the edge of the bed, staring down into Taker's proper face, mild scars, and all.

"He's going to be fine." He announced after checking the big man's pulse. "I don't know much about magic, Abigail, but I'm going to assume his body and brain put him into a reboot. He was prepared for it." He looked at her, frowning at the tears in her eyes.

"Fuck…"

"How do you feel?"

"Hungover…"

"Taker?"

Abigail scrambled up from laying down, not able to fall asleep until he woke up and looked down at him, relief coursing through her eyes and body. He was alright. He was awake and alive, but incredibly weak. If Bray and the DOV struck now, they wouldn't have a prayer. Malcolm was the only one who could help with that. Taker wouldn't have to sacrifice himself this way anymore once Malcolm was in their ranks, away from Bray and the DOV. She stood up from the bed while Jeff looked over Taker, needing a minute and stared out the window, hoping Dean had everything ready for tomorrow night.

She wasn't saying anything to anyone, deciding to blame her 'disappearance' on being upset over what Taker did. It was the best excuse she could come up with and she would claim to spend all of her time in the 'slums' with Dean and his friends. Abigail turned away from the window to look at Taker and could feel the frustration building inside of her. No, she wouldn't unleash it. This was his decision, he was a fool and going on a suicide mission, but yet, he wouldn't use some resources to save an actual sorcerer that could definitely help in the magic department. Taker was a damned idiot.

"Steve brought up some food for you, but he didn't know when you'd wake up." She spoke quietly, distantly. "Do you want some or are you still…not feeling right?"

If Bray and the DOV struck now, they still wouldn't breach those walls, he had ensured that. With or without him, Wonderful was protected and he… he was just… normal. "I need some water." He felt Jeff helping him up, glancing at the younger man.

"I sent up vitamins, normal humans need that shit, Boss." Jeff grinned, nodding at Abigail to go get the tray. "I'll get you some water." He got up and went to retrieve a few bottles.

Abigail retrieved the tray, setting it on the bed beside him and had tucked the stone back in his satchel like Steve requested. She watched silently as he took slowly slips of the water along with the vitamins, not exactly sure how THOSE would help, but she wasn't a doctor. Jeff was a genius and knew what he was doing, obviously. A glance at the clock told her it was after midnight and Abigail realized she had fallen asleep with him. It was probably why she felt a little fatigued since Jeff had woken her up upon arrival to check on Taker.

She sipped her own water Jeff handed her, thanking him and pulled the hair tie out of her hair, letting it tumble down her back since her head hurt from keeping it up in the messy bun all this time. Taker would be leaving in mere hours, before the sun rose…so much for what could be their final night together. It was selfish to think that way and she knew it, but she was only human and had hoped to have one final night with Taker like they'd had the past 2 nights. Then the fool had to go and…humanize himself, if that even made sense…and knocked himself out for most of the night.

"Man, are you going to be up for this?" Jeff asked, watching as Taker began to slowly pull himself out of bed. "I know it's been… forever, since you were, um, normal, and you know my theories on that."

"I'm fine."

He rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck from side to side, and stared down at Abigail. It was weird, he thought, not being able to shift his looks or feel the magic from Glen coursing through his veins. He reached back, turning to the side so his profile was to her, and began gathering up his excessively long, dark red hair. Faded scars beneath his mustache and goatee, and a black teardrop beneath his eye, something he had done jailhouse style in memory of his brother.

"Just… feels odd."

"Yeah, no shit, you've been living with magic boosting your natural abilities and strength. Eat. Abbie, shove food down his throat if you have to. I'm going to sleep. And seriously, take some of those damn vitamins, we don't know what lingering effects there might be, or what that magic was making up for in your system."

"Because a lack of potassium might kill me…" Taker snorted, dropping down to sit on the edge of the bed.

So this was his TRUE form. The teardrop, the long dark red hair, the faint scars from the house fire, this was all him. Abigail stared in wonder, tilting her head slightly and reached out to touch his face with her hand, caressing it tenderly. He was going out there completely defenseless, would she ever see him again? Abigail couldn't let it weigh on her mind because she had her own task to undertake, her own mission, one she knew he wouldn't approve of.

"He's right. You need to eat." She left him be for the time being and stood up to stare out the window again, looking up at the moon. Don't come yet Bray, she thought, silently praying they both made it back in one piece.

Frowning, Taker walked over to stand behind her, bending down to wrap his arms around her, resting his chin on top of her head, and stared out the window as well. "You know, nothing with ill intent will ever be able to get inside Wonderful, don't you?" He asked softly, feeling the tension in her. Magic wasn't necessary to read her body language. "The DOV could sit outside the walls for years and not be able to get in."

Not that that wouldn't harm Wonderful in the long run, because it would. They were self-sustaining to a point, but not 100%. He moved so his mouth was by her ear, then trailed his nose down the side of her neck.

"It'll be fine, darlin'."

"You're leaving here without magic though, without your disguise. You're completely human now…and you expect me not to worry about you?" Abigail turned to stare up at him, feeling his forehead rest against hers and relished the feeling, caressing his face. "I know why you did what you did and it's commendable. It's heroic and noble, it shows you really do care about every single person living here, even if you don't always agree with them." Dean Ambrose came to mind. "For the record, this is my favorite look on you. Because it's ACTUALLY you, I am looking at, and not some disguise. Now you really need to eat before that Hardy boy comes back up here and sticks his foot up your ass for not listening."

At that Taker snorted, shaking his head and took Abigail's hand, guiding her back with him. He sat on the bed, pulling the tray towards him and gestured for her to sit with him. "I don't have to like people, darlin', to know what the right thing to do is." He informed her with a grin, the idea of Jeff Hardy kicking his ass, magic or not, amusing as hell. "So you don't mind this look? It might be permanent." He could probably do with trim on his hair, it was pretty long.

"Not at all. I wouldn't mind if it was permanent because it's actually you. I was wondering what your actual look was and I'm not disappointed."

Abigail slid her fingers through his beautiful hair, glad he had long hair, even though he looked good with short hair too. There was something about the long hair though that really turned her on. The tattoos were actually him too, another plus. She kissed his arm, watching him eat, and moved behind him to begin rubbing his shoulders, making sure his hair didn't get in his food. They still had a few more hours before he was leaving, but he also needed more rest to recuperate from taking the magic out of him.

"I'm going to miss you." She spoke in his ear softly, kissing the top of his head while continuing the massage.

His mouth was full of food, so he didn't immediately reply. "I'm going to miss you too, Abbie." He replied truthfully, meaning it. "Hopefully, we'll be able to do this run with no problems. Since you're here, the DOV has backed off… and you said Wyatt gave you a few months, right?" At her nod, he let out a slow sigh. "We'll be fine, darlin'."

He ate in silence, trying not to groan around his food at how good her massage felt on his shoulders, though she also seemed to be getting distracted by his many tattoos. When he was finished, he put his dishes and everything else back on the tray. Moving it aside so he could make room for her, Taker pulled her down to lay on the bed with him.

"Mark." He said after a moment, smiling at her puzzled look. "My name is Mark."

"Mark?" Undertaker wasn't his actual name? Granted, it was a tad morbid sounding, but she did think that was his birth name. She'd been calling him Taker during their… "Oh wow…okay…"

Why was he telling her this now? It didn't matter, Abigail could only smile at him and caressed his face again, her thumb brushing the teardrop etched into his skin. It was black, just below his right eye and she leaned over to brush her lips against it before kissing him softly.

"Mark." She said it again, this time with clarity instead of question and nodded. "I like it. It suits you. I noticed nobody else calls you by that in public though, so I'll just call you Mark when we're alone, if you want." Something told her he didn't divulge his actual name to a lot of people, which made her part of his 'circle' Ambrose talked about. "How long will you be gone for?"


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Only a few people knew his given name. Several people knew his last name. Only Stephanie called him Calaway, and Amy had addressed him as Mark in private, so had Steve, that was about it. Mark did not make people outside these walls stop and hesitate. Whereas the moniker 'Undertaker' made potential enemies take a moment to wonder how a person got that name. Mind games, scare tactics.

"I don't know. Roman Reigns, who I'm sure you've met since you like to hang out with Ambrose, modified a trailer and some motorcycles. We've done testing on it out in the fields. Between four of us, we can haul it, and we're only taking two runners for protection. Few weeks there, sooner if we're lucky. Few days in the hospital stripping it down and packing it up, a few weeks back." Sooner, he hoped.

A month or longer, which really boded well in her favor because DOV was clear across the map and it would take at least 2 weeks to get there and two weeks to get back. They would be cutting it close, but she had to take the risk anyway. Abigail didn't miss that underlying tone of his when he spoke Roman and Ambrose's name, a smirk curving her lips.

"He offered me a job, you know." She moved to lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling. "He said I'm too talented to be a kitchen maid or servant. I don't know if I agree with him, but he said he could find me something to do in the 'slums', as he likes to call it." Her head turned to stare at him, trying to register the look on his face. "So, I'm thinking about taking him up on his offer and 'slumming' it while you're away. Just thought you should know and you can inform your comrades, so they don't send out another search party for me and worry."

"My comrades," He echoed, not entirely sure if he liked that word. Taker knew he definitely didn't like the idea of her slumming it with Dean Ambrose and his… pals. "So… you'll be working with Ambrose and his ilk while I'm gone." He said quietly, thoughtfully, catching her nod and stroked his chin. "And where will you be sleeping?" Because he could delay his trip, just so he could strangle Ambrose if he had to. Taker didn't like the reckless idiot and now – now he was curious if that was jealousy he was now feeling, not liking that either.

"Not in his bed, that's for sure." Abigail could hear the jealousy in his voice and stroked his face with her hand, scooting closer to him. "He said he has a room for me in that Shield building. Roman will be gone, so it'll be him and Seth. He's got one extra room available and said I could have it if I wanted to start working with him. I'm just gonna see how it goes and, if I don't like it, I'll go back to the common house. But maybe he does have a job for me that I'll like better. Won't know until I try." It was the perfect excuse for her absence because she knew Taker's 'circle' didn't leave the front of Wonderful often. "You're not…mad about this, are you?"

"I'm not happy about it," He could admit it; it wasn't like she couldn't tell anyway. "But this is your choice."

Given Abigail's lack of freedom all those years, suffering under the DOV and Bray Wyatt, he would never tell her what she could and couldn't do. Not over something that was likely trivial, even if his male pride was screaming at him to quit being a pussy and tell her hell no. Egos were not good for relationships.

"You don't like working in the common house? And, if you don't mind me asking, darlin', what talents exactly are going to waste?" He wasn't saying she wasn't talented, but he wanted to know what Ambrose seen in her.

"The common house is fine, and I like it. I have no idea what 'talents' Dean sees in me, but he said there's other things I can do down in the 'slums' that would be better than the common house." Abigail shrugged, feeling his arm wrap around her to pull her closer and softly brushed her mouth against his, sighing softly. "He's a good guy, he won't steer me wrong and, if he does, you can beat his head in when you get back and I'll return to the common house. I won't get into trouble, I promise." That was a flat lie because what she was about to do could potentially kill her.

It was worth the risk though.

Taker wanted to tell her that just associating with Ambrose was being steered wrong. The man had no respect, he was a wild card, and he KNEW Ambrose was smuggling items into Wonderful; he just didn't have the time to prove it. Ambrose had made his opinions, which usually contrasted very sharply with his, known, and his derision for the way things were done had been a major source of issues in the earlier years.

"Fine." he growled, pressing his forehead against hers.

She giggled at his growl, knowing he was both frustrated and exasperated with her, kissing him again harder. "Enough talk about him."

Abigail could tell he was still tired and drained from the magic siphoning, so all they would do was kiss and touch. She was fine with that and kept her clothes on, though she had kicked her shoes off earlier, refusing to leave his side. Trish was probably really pissed at her, along with Amy, for not coming to the common house to work, but Taker was more important. Eventually, his eyes did close, and Abigail settled next to him, pulling the blanket over them to snuggle, eventually fall asleep herself.

* * *

4 AM rolled around as Abigail's eyes opened, seeing Taker was up getting around to leave. "Now I know you weren't going to leave me without saying goodbye. That's not very nice, Mark." She smirked, despite waking up and stretched her arms in the air, slipping out of bed. There was no way she wouldn't see him off with the others and looked at the huge bag on the floor that probably held all of his personal belongings. "Do you want me to help you with anything? Are you feeling better?"

"I've been living on magic for so long now, darlin', that I think it's going to take me a bit to learn how I feel. I feel… okay?" He said it thoughtfully, his emerald eyes surveying her. "It is weird, not being able to feel it pumping through me, and it makes me wonder just how much of the strength, and stamina was me and how much was magic." He was about to find out, he supposed. Smirking, he moved so he could push her back down on the mattress, hovering over her and brushed his lips against hers. "Going to miss me, Abbie?"

"What do you think?" Abigail remarked, feeling the strength radiating from him and knew it was himself and not the magic, which made her feel marginally better. She accepted his kiss, caressing his face, and only broke it when they both needed air to breathe, pecking his nose. "Be careful, be safe, and come back to me in one piece, okay? I know you can't promise it, but…try your best." The same could be said for her. It did bother her a bit he couldn't disguise himself, but then again, not a lot of people truly knew his TRUE form, so maybe they would just think it was another disguise instead of actually him. "I'm walking you down to the gates and seeing you off."

Speaking of the gates… Taker kissed her again, pouring everything he felt into it and cursed inwardly because she was responding while he was rising to the occasion. This was going to be a very long trip. Groaning, with more than just a hint of longing in his tone, he pushed himself away from Abigail with great reluctance.

"Where'd you put the talisman?" He asked, looking around.

Watching as she stood to retrieve the satchel, Taker pulled out the little orb of Mythril he had fashioned and watched as the black faded, revealing itself properly. "Can you do something for me, Abbie?" He asked quietly. "Nobody is going to notice if you slip off and do this. Me… they will." Taker put it back and handed the satchel to her. "Hide this, here in Wonderful, where nobody will find it. Nobody will be able to use it, nobody but me because that magic only responds to me, but if someone got a burr up their ass, they could take it outside the walls." And then, the protection would fail. "I don't even want to know where you would hide it, not until I return. Will you do this for me?"

Tears filled her eyes as he handed over the satchel to her with all of his magic stored into it, into the crystal. Taker – no, Mark – entrusted her with this task, nobody else, not even in his elite circle. He wanted her to do this, to protect Wonderful and nodded, gasping when he kissed her passionately one final time.

"You better come back to me, Mark." She whispered, a few tears slipping down her cheeks and hugged him tightly around the neck, clutching the satchel in her hand. "I meant what I said. You are the hope that will save Vesperia…and you're my hope too."

Abigail reluctantly pulled away from him, slipped her shoes on, and gave him one final look, already knowing in her heart she loved him. She was in love with him and they hadn't even known each other that long. With satchel in hand, Abigail left the tower and let the tears flow down her cheeks now that she was away from Taker, heading inside the building to climb the ladder. Quietly, she packed all of her belongings up, which wasn't much and left, turning just in time to see them all roar away on their bikes and a truck to head to the hospital.

"Goodbye, Mark." She whispered brokenly before turning and heading down the street, still dark out, toward the Shield building.

First, she stopped at the workout room and went into the far corner, remembering when she found this spot the first time she and Amy worked out. There was a broken floorboard nobody knew about, so she pulled it up, set the satchel inside, and closed it, making sure it blended in with the rest of the floor. Then, she headed on her way further into Wonderful to the Shield building, wiping her tears away angrily.

Dean was already up, sitting out on what had been the front stoop, smoking a cigarette in just a pair of old, gray sweat pants. He had rolled out of bed in order to see his buddy off. To be honest, he hadn't expected Abigail to be showing up this early, so it was a bit of a surprise to find her strolling up the dark, foggy street, looking like she had slept for shit.

"Morning." He grunted, pulling his leg off the step to make room for her, bending down to brush his head against hers. "You look like shit, babe."

"I'm fine."

No, she wasn't, and it showed, but Abigail couldn't let her personal feelings interfere with their plan. She just didn't expect Mark to actually entrust her with protecting Wonderful by hiding that satchel with the crystal. Sniffling, she let out a soft growl and wiped the remainder of her tears away, clearing her throat somewhat hoarsely.

"I told Taker I was staying with you while he's gone and working with you. So that's my reason for not being seen for the next month." She pulled back to look up into Dean's eyes, another tear falling down her cheek. "I think we should sleep throughout the day and when the sun goes down, we can leave, what do you think? Still got that extra room for me?"

"Read my mind, Abs."

Dean tossed the cigarette out into the street before standing up and gently pulled her towards him. He may not have liked the Undertaker, but he knew she more than liked the guy, maybe even loved. Reaching out, Dean brushed away her tears with the pad of his thumbs before gesturing towards the door.

"Come on, let's get you back to bed." He murmured, guiding her inside. Seth was still asleep; the man could sleep through anything, tornadoes included.

"Dean, wait…" Abigail did not want to be alone right now, not when Mark was off on a potential suicide mission and also knew what she'd told him about not sleeping in Dean's bed. What the big man didn't know wouldn't hurt him, however. "C-Can I stay with you? I won't sleep by myself right now."

At his nod, Abigail let him guide her up the stairs with her stuff in tow, dropping it in the spare room that would be hers, and pulled her into his room. She kicked her shoes off and pulled the covers over her, making sure to leave enough for Dean before turning on her side. When he pulled her against him, his arm wrapped around her waist, Abigail didn't push him away and let the silent tears fall, wishing it was Mark holding her right now instead of Dean.

Dean didn't fall asleep right away and neither did she, or at least he was assuming she hadn't. Every now and then he could feel her body tremble as if she were trying to repress tears. He was so screwed. He knew he was. He was her Taker substitute at the moment, and only for comfort, and he was completely fine with that. That was how he knew he was screwed.

"He'll be fine, Abs," He whispered against the back of her head, running a hand up and down her side soothingly. "He'll be back before you know it."

If only he knew why she was terrified for Mark, but Abigail couldn't tell him. She was sworn to secrecy, remembering how he'd specifically told her not to tell anyone. Dean wasn't a substitute for anything, he was a friend and she needed comfort right now. If he thought of himself as a substitute, that was on him, not her. All she could do was nod, trying to focus on his hand on her side because it was a distraction of some kind.

"I-I know you don't like him…and I u-understand why. S-Some things he does…doesn't make sense." At all. "But I-I appreciate you h-helping me, Dean." Turning, she buried her face in his chest, not wanting him to see her tear-streaked face and soaked in his warmth, closing her eyes trying to calm down.

Dean regretted not wearing more clothes besides those sweats, because her tears were hot and so was her erratic breathing as she tried calming herself. Like the sap he was, he just kept rubbing her, now her back, trying to help her settle herself. What was it about the Undertaker that drew her in? He couldn't understand it. They were opposites on their beliefs and, down the road, he could see that being a major source of contention between them, especially if this plan of hers worked.

"It'll be alright." He whispered, raining kisses on the crown of her head.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

"All right, so how the hell does this thing work again?" Abigail asked, wanting to make sure she understood and listened as Dean explained the oxygen mask, nodding.

She was freshly showered, well-rested, and ready to get their journey started. It would be a week trek to the cave where the invisibility cloak was supposedly in. If Dean knew that, why hadn't he tried grabbing the damn thing sooner? Abigail wore a pair of skintight black shorts that rested just below the knee and a black tank top, her hair braided to keep it out of her face and out of the way. It was night, the sun gone, and they were the only individuals out near the lake channel they would dive into in order to escape Wonderful.

"And I have exactly 20 minutes of oxygen before I'm sunk, right?"

He hadn't tried grabbing it because… he wasn't about to go spelunking in an abandoned mineshaft for shits and giggles. Not to mention, MAGIC, not only was there likely natural dangers, but probably magical ones as well. Dean had no reason for an invisibility cloak and she was out of her mind. He liked it.

"Yep. Ten on the way out, we'll stash it, and then ten on the way back in. Unless you think you want to come strolling through the front gates on our way back."

Luckily for her, that old mineshaft was on the way to their actual destination. He had, over the day, taken the liberty of moving some supplies for them, waiting just outside the walls where the spring would surface. Dean wasn't doing this with just luck and charm, hell no.

"We'll have to come through the front gates with Malcolm. There's no way he'll be able to hold his breath that long to swim. Hell, I don't even know if he KNOWS how to swim. It won't matter and there's no point hiding him since he'll be here to help with the magic anyway." Abigail would only need to do this once and had mentally prepared herself as much as she could, hoping she was ready for it. "Let's do this."

Slipping the breathing mask on with the oxygen tank, Dean had one as well and they both nodded to each other before diving into the water. He'd taken the liberty of getting her a waterproof bag for her clothes and belongings she was bringing with for the trip, which was very thoughtful because she was DEEP underwater. It would've sucked if her belongings had gotten drenched. They also had goggles on, so she could open her eyes underwater to see where the hell she was going, and Dean had a flashlight that worked underwater since it was pitch black otherwise. Dean led the way, sort of, since he knew where he was going and, eventually, he surfaced in an air pocket, pulling his mask off to study her. She looked pale, but that could've been the light. He knew being too far underwater could lead to issues due to the pressure.

"We'll take a minute," He trod the water easily and reached out to steady her. Probably a good thing Abigail had been exercising the way she had; swimming like this was tiring as hell if one wasn't used to it. "How do you feel, Abs? Light-headed, dizzy?"

"A little light-headed, but I'll be fine." Abigail assured him, her arms and legs burning from the swimming, but not as bad as they would've had she NOT been working out. The oxygen from the tank was responsible for the light-headedness, though they were halfway there. "You never told me how we're getting to the mineshaft and DOV. Are we taking a car or a bike?" There were a few cars around Wonderful, on the outside, she'd noticed upon arrival, but mostly, everyone rode bikes. If they were going clear across Vesperia to the DOV's domain, a car might've been faster and safer to take.

"We're taking a motorcycle, babe. Cars can't get through tree lines and in and out the way a small bike can." He answered, not missing the look on her face and grinned. That was probably the one thing he and Taker both saw eye to eye on, not that he'd admit it. Well, and her. "Not to mention, way more fuel-efficient. When we get out of the water, I had Roman drop some shit off for us on his way out, including some lightweight body armor. I uh… guessed… your measurements."

"Body armor?"

Abigail blinked, wondering why that was necessary, but didn't say anything and just nodded. They would have to camp out quite a bit, but she hoped they'd get at least 12 hours or so on the road a day. Hopefully, they could find abandoned gas stations on the way.

"Dean, wait, what about Malcolm?" At his arched brow, she kept treading the water and frowned. "We're going on a rescue mission, which means 3 of us have to come back, not 2. You can't fit 3 people on a bike, so what are we gonna do about that?"

"Oh yeah, we'll have to ditch the bike then, now won't we?" He laughed, shaking water out of his hair. "If he's half as good as you seem to think, he can shield a car, right?" Dean wasn't overly worried about getting back. It was getting there without getting blown up or shot, or anything else. "Come on, mask back on. Halfway out." He slipped his rebreather back on, waiting until she had done the same before diving back underwater.

By the time they resurfaced, it was 11 minutes later, and Abigail had never wanted to kiss cold, hard ground so much in her life. Swimming was fun, but when one was doing it for a purpose, for a dangerous tank, to sneak out of somewhere, it SUCKED. She tossed the breathing mask and oxygen tank to the side, coughing, landing on her backside because a dizzy spell overtook her.

"I'm fine…give me…a minute…"

Too much oxygen at once…Abigail just had to wait for it to pass and squeezed her eyes shut, soaked from head to toe and the cool grass felt amazing against her skin. When she was able to sit up, 10 minutes later, without seeing two of everything, she caught the dry clothes Dean tossed at her from her bag and began changing. She smiled when she didn't even have to tell him to turn around while she slipped out of her wet bra and panties, put them in a separate compartment of her bag and quickly dressed.

"Okay, I'm good, I think…"

Abigail squeezed out the excess water from her braid and saw Dean was ready to go. Now, she had on blue jeans with holes in the knees and a purple tank top, dark colors due to them sneaking out. Dean was just in all black, it worked well that way and he was freezing. He could have undressed in front of her and all she probably would have seen was pubic hair, everything else had shriveled up and died from frostbite. Or so it felt anyway.

"Follow me." He said when he felt they were both ready, leading her off at a slow jog towards a tree line away from the main gates of Wonderful.

This was going to be an interesting trip, there was no doubt about that.

* * *

The first day, they rode for 12 hours, taking breaks to eat and use the bathroom, but overall, it was a 12-hour ride. The second day was the same thing and Dean made sure to bring a tent with sleeping bags for them to camp out in the woods, even building them a fire to keep warm. It was still summer, so it was more of a light issue than anything, though it did get somewhat chilly at night. Abigail was anxious the first couple days, but once day 4 passed, she was used to the routine and her legs didn't even hurt from riding for long periods of time. Just as Dean said, by day 7, they arrived at the old mine shaft and it was night, which was secluded and had been abandoned some time ago.

"If this isn't down there, we're gonna have to find another way to sneak into the castle and rescue Malcolm." She informed Dean, refusing to give up just because they didn't have an invisibility cloak. It would be far more dangerous, but…Malcolm had to be saved for Wonderful's sake. "You ready for this?"

"Slow your roll, babe."

Dean was rifling through the pack that she had to carry because he drove. Early on, he had explained it was enchanted and something he wanted to keep on the down-low, or else it would have been confiscated by Taker. He had thought once or twice to loan it out, the damn thing could hold an entire two-story house in it without any issues, or seemingly without any weight, but… screw Taker. The man was anti-magic, so… Dean was very easily justified in keeping it for himself.

"Here." He was setting out ropes, not about to dive down into any holes or anything. "You ever go spelunking?" He laughed at the perplexed look on her face.

"Given who I am and my background, what do you think, Ambrose?" Abigail shot back with a snort, shaking her head at his boyish grin and folded her arms in front of her chest.

What the hell was spelunking? Judging by the hookups and whatnot, they were about to dive DEEP into the unknown and she hoped they survived. This was phase one of their plan, phase two would be arriving at the castle, at night, and getting Malcolm out before the sun came up before heading back to Wonderful. They had to time everything perfectly or else the plan would fall apart.

"Care to explain, Mr. Jack-of-all-trades?"

He did so patiently, making sure she understood what they were doing, how the equipment worked, and then… then he hit a snag. "Fuck all…" Dean stared down at Abigail, frowning. "Babe, in case something happens, you won't be able to drag my ass out." Someone had to stay topside. "Damn it." He ran a hand through his shaggy hair, beginning to curse a blue streak.

"So, I have to go…" Abigail surmised, seeing the trouble in his eyes and cupped his face in her hands, knowing they couldn't turn back now. They were here, and they were so close to the invisibility cloak, she could practically taste it. "I'll do it, I'll be fine."

If she wasn't, well…she knew Dean could still get Malcolm out of the castle on his own. He snuck into places before, she discovered, during their first week together. They talked about everything under the sun, Dean pretty much knew everything about her and she knew a great deal about him. There was a reason he was called himself a jack of all trades.

"Strap me up and send me down."

"Fuck all, Abbie!" He rasped, throwing his hands in the air. "Goddamn… no, no… fuck."

Dean knew she was going; they had known there would be danger and he hadn't thought about this. Cursing louder, Dean began strapping her into the harness, followed by the headgear with a light and finally a satchel. She had that Mythril dagger of hers strapped to her thigh and he had contemplated a handgun, but… he didn't want to risk her missing and the bullet bouncing around.

"Here." He fiddled with a tiny little bit, finally placing it in her ear and did the same to himself. "You best constantly talk to me, Abigail, or I'll tie off the rope and climb down there." He had tied off the rope anyway, but he would be giving her the slack to get down and then get back up. "I don't like this…" Dean whispered, his hands moving to her shoulders, rubbing them through her clothes. "Kiss for good luck?" He then added with a grin, trying to mask the concern.

"What happened to your adventurous side, Ambrose?"

Abigail kissed his cheek, knowing that was all she could give him because her heart belonged to Taker. She could see the fear in his eyes and rested her forehead against his, or as much as she could with the headgear on. Stroking his face with her hand, Abigail let him hold her for a few minutes to calm him down a little more and took a few deep breaths herself.

"Okay, enough, I have to do this." Picking up the rope, she yanked on it experimentally and nodded before locking eyes with Dean again. "See you in a little while." Then, she hopped down the hole while holding onto the rope, vaulting her feet off the dirt wall to launch herself down further instead of taking it slow. "I think I might be halfway there, Dean…"

"Yeah, fuck you, Abs, don't fucking free fall like that!" Dean grunted, glad he had put on leather gloves or else she would have just shredded his palms. As it was, her weight dropping like that, he glanced back at the tie-off. "You take it slow, got me? If you go too fast, you're going to snap the damn rope on the stone and then you're dead. Splat, because gravity works. So nice and easy, babe." He was going to paddle her backside when she got back up here. "Listen to me, from old maps, that shaft has two mines, used to be coal. I don't know which one is the one you want, but pay attention to the ceilings. If it looks sketchy or shaky, don't go down it."

"But what if the invisibility cloak isn't in the safe tunnel? What if I HAVE to go down the other one?"

Abigail bit her bottom lip to keep from giggling when Dean growled in her ear, feeling a shiver rush down her spine. She would've much rather had Taker here with her, in this life or death situation, but he was so stubborn, he didn't think it was a good idea. And he hated magic. She was going to prove to him they NEEDED magic in order to take over the DOV.

"Whoa!" Abigail hit the bottom faster than she thought and immediately looked around, flashing the light in all directions. "Okay, it looks like I'm going left, Dean." The air was thin, so she had to move quickly, but not to where she lost her breath. "Okay, so far it's just a dark hall, I guess? I don't knowwwwwwww… holy fuck!" Abigail ALMOST walked off the edge and looked at the gape before her, swallowing hard. "Okay – okay there's a hole and I'm gonna have to jump over it."

"No, you're fucking not!" Dean bellowed, well, sort of bellowed. He had to keep it down because not only was he minding her damn rope, he was supposed to be keeping watch. Crouching down to peer into the mineshaft, Dean took a deep breath. "If you're going to jump a hole, you need to tell me how far you think the jump is, okay? Because I'm going to have to give you more slack." Elsewise, she was going to jump that damn thing and wind up dangling. "Babe, this rope is only going to go so far, you got those flares in that pack around your waist? Start throwing them ahead of you a bit, it'll light things up so you can get an idea how far that tunnel goes, and any more holes." He should have gone and begun cursing again.

"Breathe Dean, don't have a heart attack up there." Abigail soothed, pulling out one of the flares and ripped the tab open, blinking as a powerful red flame came out of it. She threw it as hard as she could, lighting up the way just like Dean said and the hole…was about 2 feet wide. "I'd say 2 feet, maybe a bit more." She finally spoke, hearing him curse and smirked, knowing she could make it. "Give me leeway, I can make it." When he began arguing and panicking again, Abigail growled. "DEAN! Shut up and give me leeway NOW. We don't have time for this." She was scared enough as it was, and he wasn't making things easier. When he listened, Abigail mentally counted to 3 and made the jump, landing on her knees. "Thank god for jeans…" Then, she kept going and used her headlight with the flare behind her, stopping when she came to two tunnels. "Okay…left or right…right or left…"


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

He had to slow his own roll because, if he was panicking, he was going to make it worst for her. Dean had not counted on actually liking the person he was working with. His usual jobs involved just… getting and sneaking back in, or getting someone out, or just… people he didn't actually care about. Why did she have to be different?

"Magic has a feel to it, Abs. I'm sure you felt it with that dagger of yours. Just… has a thing. Go down one tunnel a bit and, if it just doesn't have that 'feel' to it, try the other." Dean could only hope the cloak wasn't guarded or something.

"A feeling you say?" Abigail took the Mythril dagger from the holder around her thigh and held it up, watching it glint and change colors once she pointed it at the right tunnel, the unsafe one. "Then I'm going right."

"Wait WHAT?!"

"Calm down, the dagger has magical properties because it was made out of Mythril. It's going to guide me to the cloak. And I feel that…pull. I can't explain it, but I know it's down the right tunnel." She didn't wait for him to respond and started another flare, tossing it on the ground before stepping over it to continue down the narrow path. With every step she took, the Mythril dagger grew a little brighter, which also helped light wise. "It's here…Dean, I can feel it…I sense it. It's…oh my god…" In front of her stood a statue of sorts a few hundred feet away, but she could clearly see the cloak wrapped around the shoulders of it. "I found it, it's on a statue of some kind. Who the hell would put a statue down here?"

"Beautiful, you're chasing down a MAGICAL CLOAK, why shouldn't it be on a statue?" Really? In a world that had magic in it, she was all incredulous over a statue? He was grinning though because that was hilarious. "Be careful. If someone put a statue down there, with a magical cloak, it's most likely to have traps. Keep out that Mythril dagger."

"It's out, I have it in my hand right now and it's glowing brighter the closer I get to this damn thing."

So far, nothing had popped out and said 'boo', so that was a good sign. It couldn't be THIS easy to retrieve the cloak, right? Abigail was cautious, moving closer to the statue and stopped in front of it a few minutes later, her eyes gazing up at it. The cloak itself shimmered black, it was beautiful and reminded her of a night sky, minus the moon.

"Okay Dean, I'm gonna grab it. I don't see any traps around and nothing has popped out at me, so…I think we're good."

Slipping the dagger back into her holder, Abigail took a deep breath and reached up to retrieve the cloak. The moment the cloak left the statue completely, everything began falling apart, shaking and rumbling. The mineshaft was caving in!

"Oh shit!"

"I don't know what you did in there, Abs, but the ground up here…. is crazy!" Dean squawked, his eyes on stupid little things like stones and fallen branches, little sticks, just bouncing away on the ground. He could feel it rumbling almost beneath him and then he heard her rasping out something besides 'oh shit', cave in. "Don't forget that hole you have to jump across, toss a damn flare!" He ordered, bracing himself at the edge of the mineshaft. "C'mon, babe…"

Running as fast as she could, Abigail had stuffed the cloak in her backpack she brought down with her and vaulted over the hole when she came to it, the rumbling becoming more dangerous. She quickly yanked on the rope, looking behind her. All Dean could hear was heavy breathing, tears rushing down her cheeks.

"Dean, hurry!" She cried out, seeing a massive WAVE of dirt headed straight for her as he began pulling her up with the rope. Abigail struggled to climb back up, using muscles she didn't know she possessed and neither realized the rope was on the verge of snapping. Just as she was in arm's reach of him, that's when the thing snapped, and she screamed out, only for a strong hand to catch her by the wrist. "DEAN!" Snapping her head up, more tears fell as the dirt began rising quickly beneath her feet, knowing if he couldn't pull her up, she was done for.

Maybe she would die after all.

He had told her, after that freefall stunt of hers, that the rope could break because of the sudden pressure, causing serious friction on that rope against the stone edge. Now – now there was serious friction on top of shit hitting the rope. Dean had seen the strands giving and dropped, leaning over as far as he could without his own self slipping and probably nailing her. Abigail was right there within reach and he didn't think twice about leaning down, grasping her wrist in his hand.

"I got you, Abigail." He said through clenched teeth, seeing the fear in her wide eyes and began pulling her up.

One hand was holding onto whatever he could reach behind him, the other was holding onto her, pulling her up and he could feel muscles in that arm and shoulder protesting violently. When her head cleared the ground, he reached out with his other hand and began hoisting her, moving so he was on his knees and gave one last yank. She must have been scrabbling with her feet because it was like she came launching at him, causing them both to go flying backward. Sheer luck got his legs out from under him, though her sudden weight on him knocked what breath was left from his chest. Eyes wide, he simply stared into her rather dirty face.

"You scared me, doll." He informed her, his tone completely serious and then he was cupping her face in his hands, raising his head to capture her mouth with his.

Through the dirt and tears, along with her rapidly beating heart, Abigail registered Dean kissing her and could feel him trembling from head to toe. He broke it a few seconds later and she started laughing and crying at the same time, not sure what to make of that. Looking over her shoulder at the mound of dirt raising up, it finally stopped, and Abigail looked back down at Dean, seeing his face clear as day due to the headlight on her head.

"I-I told you, I'd be okay…" She stammered, trying like hell to stop shaking and pushed off him, pulling the headlight off her head. That had been…very scary, life-threatening, and downright spooky, but…it was all worth it. Pulling the cloak out of the bag, Abigail felt it in her fingers and held it up to her, not realizing only parts of her body were now seen by a bewildered Dean. "It's beautiful, right?"

"Uh sure, babe… here…" Dean reached out to grab… whatever, fingers feeling the fabric and then he saw it, cocking an eyebrow. "It is beautiful, Abbie." He said thoughtfully, running his fingers along it. "But, here." He dropped it back down and stepped away. "Look down at yourself." She was missing parts. "C'mon, put it away. Let's… let's get the fuck out of here before anything else caves in."

Nodding, Abigail agreed with him and stuffed the cloak back in the bag for safekeeping before swinging it over her shoulders, rising to her still somewhat jelly legs. "Are you okay?" She touched his arm, seeing he had also righted himself and stared into his electric blues, concern flooding hers. "Let's get away from here, find some place to bunker down for a couple of hours, preferably near a lake or somewhere we can clean up." Reaching up, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and let a few more tears fall down her cheeks, which mixed with the dirt on her face. "You saved me, Dean. Thank you so much." She whispered in his ear and pulled back to take his hand, guiding him away from the now buried mineshaft to their waiting bike.

There wasn't a lake, but there was a river, and he knew of a little grove off the beaten path they could bunker down for a few hours. They were going in the complete opposite direction of Taker and company, so Dean wasn't worried about running into them, though he banked Taker was hauling his cookies as fast as he could. It was the DOV he was worried about. Though… Dean had always managed to evade them before. Once they had reached that grove, Dean cut the engine and dismounted, helping Abigail down and pushed the motorcycle into some bushes, hiding it. He simply stared at her, knowing what she thought, he had saved her. And sure, he had, but if he would have thought ahead, they would have been prepared for them both to go down and…. they both would've died. She was filthy, and he began to laugh. A strange mixture of relief and amusement in his tone and he took Abigail by the hands, dancing in a circle. Abigail couldn't help laughing along with him, moving with him and felt him pull her against him, resting his forehead against hers gently.

"You fucking did it, Abs!" Taker was an idiot.

"Because of you. I never would've been able to do this without you, Dean. You know that, right? If I went down there by myself, I would've died. We're going to save Malcolm for sure now." She caressed his face, which wasn't nearly as dirty as hers and pecked his nose. "I'll never be able to repay you." Extracting herself from his arms, Abigail began peeling her clothes and shoes off, leaving her bra and panties on before jumping into the grove, the water clear until the dirty began washing away from her body. "Grab my bag, will you? There's a plastic bag in there with my shampoo and conditioner." She requested, unraveling her hair before putting the tie on her wrist and dipped her head back, splashing water on her dirt-covered face.

Yeah, get her bag, Dean shook his head at the smarmy thought. He had known since day one that Abigail was a very beautiful woman and she was daring and ballsy, had no problem in doing things the sneaky way if she thought she was right…. the only obstacle was that idiot Taker. Still riding that adrenaline high, Dean got her bag and his own, out of the pack that never ended. It had been a long day, followed by an equally rough so far night. A bath sounded great and he stank like sweat and sour smell that he was associating with fear.

"Here."

Dean made sure she saw him set it down before starting to undress as well, his mind rolling back to that kiss. She hadn't gotten mad, or said never again, which was interesting since she was with Taker. Her mind was also on that kiss and Abigail chalked it up to him being scared and elated she had survived. Adrenaline sometimes made people do crazy things. She hadn't exactly kissed him back and it'd been chaste, not passionate the way Taker kissed her.

There was no point dwelling on it, Dean knew they could only be friends and nothing more than that. They were friends and friends occasionally kissed, right? Abigail washed her hair and began rinsing the soap out, staring up at the still night sky, wondering if Taker was staring at the same stars as hers at that moment. She missed him, it'd been a week and she found herself dreaming about him every single night, being in his arms, his touch and kisses…shutting her eyes, Abigail hoped he made it back to Wonderful unscathed.

* * *

By his reckoning, they were five days out from the hospital. They were going faster than usual, and it helped that there had been no signs of the DOV. Taker hoped Abigail was right about Wyatt giving her time to complete her 'mission', and less right about him getting impatient and coming for her. He really hoped she wasn't doing anything… insane, considering who she was with.

* * *

Dean took care of his own personal grooming, keeping his back to her to give her privacy. They had the cloak, now it was getting the rest of the way to the DOV and they were going to have discuss just how they were getting in there. Invisibility cloak or not, one wrong sound or being bumped into was going to raise some suspicions.

Once she was cleaned up and dressed in fresh, dry clothes, Abigail watched Dean get the fire going and helped by carrying pieces of wood they found throughout the current location they were in. After the fire raged with life, they spread their sleeping bags on the soft grass and set up shop for a few hours since it was just after midnight. The moon shined down on them with the stars twinkling in the sky. They bunkered down, ate some food, and laid on their respective sleeping bags with Abigail staring into the fire, leaving her hair down for the moment. They were far enough away from the fire to where, if something flew out of it, it wouldn't land on them directly. It was also small enough not to draw attention, which is what they didn't want to do.

So far, they hadn't run into any trouble and only had to sneak around one DOV roadblock in order to gain access to the mineshaft. She figured there would be more checkpoints on the way to the castle and hopefully, Dean could get them through. Getting inside would be a piece of cake, but getting out, not so much. Dean was laying on his side, a map on the ground, using the light from the fire and his small flashlight to study it. He had made a lot of unsanctioned trips outside of Wonderful over the years, but this was definitely a first in trying to get into a place like DOV headquarters.

"So, Abs, what was the route that brought you here, well, to Wonderful?" Since she had probably been dropped off somewhere relatively close, he was betting whichever she had originally come in from, was not the way they wanted to take.

She was half-asleep when he asked her that and popped her head up, stifling a yawn. "Hmm?" Crawling over to him, she looked down at the map and waited for Dean to reiterate his question. "It was a main highway, actually. I don't know why they did that, but…wait, there it is." She pointed at the 39 sign on the map and trailed it all the way up to where she knew the castle was located. "There, that's where we have to go. So where are we now?" When Dean pointed at the spot, she nodded and saw they had a long way to go still, about halfway there. "I'll leave the navigating to you, Dean, because I really don't know the roads very well. I just remember that was the road they took to get to Wonderful and dropped me off several miles before the town in a car. Speaking of cars…we're going to have to get one before getting to the castle or else we're sunk even if we get Malcolm out."


End file.
